#it doesn’t get more blorbo blogging than this.

[bytebun]

.

[hugheses]

i’ve gotten a bunch of asks about the trump of it all and i just want to say a few things.

1. fuck donald trump and everyone who supports him and his misogynistic, racist, and fascist rhetoric and policies

2. the vast majority of men’s hockey players are stupid idiots, american or not

3. i don’t believe that jack is a trump supporter, but he is wayyy more neutral than i would like, especially considering his mother’s public tweets. i don’t think his “i think we’re motivated enough” remark was a brave resistlib moment. i also think he is too media trained to say anything of substance either way.

4. unfortunately i have this stupid blorbo im obsessed with. and this incident isn’t going to cure me of blorbo obsession despite it clashing with my own deep rooted political and moral views. if only i could be free.

5. if this is where you get off the hughes train, that’s fine and i respect that. but i also think fandom is about more than just the objects of our obsessions, it is also about the things we create, the bonds we form, etc. and i also think we can be interested in public figures without uncritically stanning or even supporting them. i’ve always intended my blog to come across as more of a journalistic investigation than like, a stan twitter account. i think stanning men is bad for your brain and sets you up for disappointment in 99% of cases.

so like, yes, i have a bad taste in my mouth, and im not even really rooting for team usa because they’re mostly acting like fuckwits. i might not even watch the game. and that sucks, because i love watching good hockey, and i love watching jack especially. but what sucks way more is that trump and his cronies are actively hurting and even killing people, including people i care about, including me.

part of me really wants to believe, deep down, that the hughes family are good people. ellen has certainly made her political views known. jack and quinn have spoken about the importance of pride nights and inclusivity. quinn spoke up about the murder of george floyd 5 years ago. but they also surround themselves with outspoken trump supporters. jack gives a nothingburger answer about that phone call. i’m not going to pretend like that doesn’t upset me. but im also well aware that that’s better than most of the rest of their peers.

men’s hockey is a festering cesspit of white supremacy and the subordination of women. it is in every nook and cranny, no part gone untouched. it is built into the foundation of it, and you cannot play anywhere from the nhl to the gthl without being infected by it. i do wonder sometimes, is me running this blog being complicit? am i “endorsing” this culture? and that’s something for me to continue to ponder on. but for now i will be here, and we will be here together if you so choose, and we will all have to grapple with the uncomfortableness of it all. idk what there is else to do.

[olderthannetfic]

Sorry to revive the hp wank on your blog but, yk, it was pissing me off. I’m so sick of “grow up children the lore isn’t even good.” Should I pick up some sci-fi fantasy brick instead? Some TikTok romantasy shit? As if the solid magic system is why I or anyone is into hp fandom, as opposed to the gaping holes authors and artists use as planters. The volume of work and history of fandom, and yes, history as a cultural phenomenon. It sucks that jkr used her wealth and prominence as a springboard to be hateful, but done is done on that. Jkr doesn’t, for me , atp, come into it, not since she published DH, and I know I’m not alone. The majority of book character slash fic enjoyers w fuck terfs in bio are not the same people w hp jansport and herbology t shirt. They are not hitting retweet. Email warner brothers abt their new theme park, or better yet, the media that legitimizes and platforms her, or better yet, actually pivot to activism /for/ trans people.

Like, it’s not my fault that jeffree star made good music in 2009, and all the racism, transphobia, and sex crimes he’s done before and since don’t actually make my eBay copy of beauty killer slay less. it’s not like he’s getting proceeds. Those are perfectly valid reasons to not be able enjoy something you might otherwise, but like. What we like and dislike is more to do with the gut than ppl act like it is, when it comes to stuff they can’t personally see the appeal of.

I don’t like fascism or mark wahlburg, but that doesn’t mean I think those things being bad is an actually compelling reason for someone to deny their extant enjoyment of Attack on Titan or The Italian Job, even though it /is/ the reason I personally can’t stand these things.

On the other hand I still like Home Alone 2 AND Two Weeks Notice, and Friz Frelings non-overtly-racist ouvre.

This is just another case of moralizing a personal squick, an iteration of which a broad chunk of self proclaimed proshippers seem perfectly happy to engage in.

I have a bunch of new and comfort fics queued up for my top surgery recovery. If one more person tells me to just decide to like earthsea instead I will metaphorically kms in front of them. There’s exactly one earthsea fic on ao3 with gay sex. And, yk, my blorbos aren’t there. Joy you can’t personally relate to is not less important or more immature for being unrelatable to you.

And ngl it wasn’t gonna work on me anyways, but telling people to discard something they enjoy and care about bc otherwise they’re bad evil cringe immature babies with shit taste who only read one book is like, not the winning argument people seem to think it will be.

--

[stealingyourbones]

I’m fine with posts about my Blorbo getting ignored. It happens. We all know that. It’s disappointing, but you get inspired, start plotting, maybe even start writing yourself, lose motivation, and stop. It’s normal. It happens to all of us. Not a big deal.

But. BUT. BUUUUT. What drives me fucking insane is when some beautiful creative once-in-a-lifetime hand crafted prompt gets derailed into the generic stereotypical tropes that this crossover fandom constantly falls back on. I know that happens to you a lot, how do you deal with it?

In truth, when you sign up for creating content that you allow anyone to interact with, it’s just a part of the gig. It happens a lot, I may not enjoy it but others do and a community of people writing and having fun is what I strive to create.

My main ways to divert posts are either:

1.) Leave it be and let folks do their thing. The point of prompts is to let anyone add their thoughts, it doesn’t matter your personal feelings on a trope or headcanon.

2.) Simply stop interacting with that reply chain. I used to reblog absolutely every reply I got but now I only reblog the ones I enjoy. It has helped my mental health greatly. Additionally, if you don’t reblog responses to your posts, go and do that. It makes people more likely to see the responses you like if they already follow your blog for your writing and you’ll have a higher likelihood of that prompt gaining more replies.

3.) Put in the tags (#not ____ AU/trope/headcanon). I’ve done it a few times before with Ghost King AU’s I believe, mainly because I think that avoiding that trope for that particular post would make people flex their creativity more and write something they wouldn’t even have thought of if not given that limitation. This will sometimes work. Some folks reblog the post without the tag and the trope is posted anyways. People also might see the tag and think you’re being picky and rude and avoid the post entirely.

4.) Complain. I don’t really recommend doing this because people will Not Be Pleased but I am 100% guilty of doing this more than once. I have been pretty vocal on making my opinions clear on: Danny and Bruce’s relationship could also be something other than paternal, the automatic adoptions tropes, Ghost King AU’s, OP Danny, and not consuming some form of DC media is nigh impossible and actively avoiding it prevents you from learning about new characters and giving you new interests and ideas to spread and influence the fandom. This is the second least effective action to do. The first being saying nothing. Venting might be a good way to express frustration but let’s be honest, no one wants to listen to or read someone complaining for a few hundred words when they could be consuming a positive take on something they enjoy. For example: this post might get like 50 notes maybe max. It’s not a topic people like to read of and it’s critical on the things they like so they probably won’t interact with it.

5.) Add back onto your own post or another persons post with the idea of how you thought the post should have gone! If you don’t like the angle other folks are going at it, write your own thoughts on the prompt. A few solid paragraphs of ~500 words are what I have seen work the best in influencing and changing the direction of replies to a post. This is the best course of action to have people write another direction in tropes you enjoy and ideas you view are fresh and new. It might not be people’s favorite response to hear, but if you want a story to go a particular way, you have to write it yourself and hope the audience receives it well and picks up what you’re putting down.

6.) Write something similar again and hope a different audience receives the post and interprets it differently. Add a different spin on the concept and maybe add the (no ____) tag if you really really want something different.

I hope these tips help! Main takeaways if you don’t want to read everything: Complaining solves nothing and action solves everything. If you don’t like the way a post is going, write it to the way you want it to be.

[washmouthing]

What are your thoughts on the mouthwashing characters?

FIRST ANON ON MY BLOG LETS GOOO

Andkdedjeidheidheu there is so much I could say. Where to start.

Curly is sooooooo. He makes me insane. I need to put him under a microscope. There are so many posts on my blog where people have talked about him in far more eloquent terms and I don’t know how to succinctly explain him in a way that wouldn’t take 10 paragraphs. But yeah. I love him so much even though he kind of sucks,,, blorbo from my game.

I want to beat Jimmy with a bat. Swansea should’ve ended him. The way the game leaves you in the dark about everything at the very start and you slowly find out about him and how shitty he is. I wish I could say I hated him but he’s such a good character that I can’t help but acknowledge him for his place in the story. As a person though. Horrific.

Swansea reminds me a lot of my dad 😭😭😭 which is kind of nice. I think he’s a really good guy and his relationship with Daisuke makes me incredibly miserable. Big Swansea fan, I should draw him at one point.

I LOVE DAISUKE SO MUCH IM GLING TO CRY HE DIDNT DESERVE WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM. He’s the babygirl of all time and he means so so so well, but he’s in such a shitty situation, like. My poor boy. Alexa play “I Bet On Losing Dogs” by Mistski. I think he’s really cute and pretty and also a really miserable character once you peel back how happy he appears to be. He just wants to make his mom proud and find his way :((((((

Anya. Oh my God. She’s so so so gorgeous and she makes me so miserable. She’s trying her best but she never expected things to get that bad, and she’s trapped in a tin can with the man who raped her. What the fuck. The fact that I have to purposefully seek out information about herself because otherwise we don’t learn about anything her because Jimmy doesn’t give a fuck. We learn more about her in the tiny stargazing scene with Curly than any of her conversations with Jimmy. It’s so. I can feel that she’s SUCHHHHHH an interesting person, but we just don’t get to know a lot about her!!!! I love her so much and I want her to take anxiety medication and go on holiday to Switzerland or something.

The embryo monster thing freaks me out and fascinates me in equal measure. I hate it.

[hot-take-tournament]

Nothing annoyed a younger me more than opening ao3 to look up my favourite character only to find so many fics that were so contradictory to how he’d actually act (mostly for the sake of shipping, but the way fandom sometimes treats m/m parings and feels the need to shove them into certain roles and traits is a completely different conversation that I will not be getting into)

I think a lot of this is because of people wanting these characters to fit into tropes and stereotypes that they were never made for, so they end up stripping them of all defining characteristics so they can fit the perfect mould, which is more of a bigger issue with fandom as a whole rather than a couple people mischaracterising my blorbo

But honestly? Good for them, it may be annoying, but they’re doing something creative that makes them happy and there is nothing more beautiful than that

I’m all for people doing whatever they want forever and if that means wildly mischaracterising my favourite guy, then go ahead and have a blast I’m genuinely happy for you, even though I can’t stand it and it makes me die a little on the inside

Something I will never get though is people trying to explain away/ justify/ just comply ignore any bad thing a character they like has done. That’s the best part of them! You’re allowed to like villains, can you really say you love them if you can’t accept them, war crimes and all?

Conclusion: make bad, cringey art. It doesn’t matter if it’s entirely self indulgent you made it for you anyway

(I still voted yes on the pole though, at that point they are just glorified oc’s, but who cares? I don’t have to read those fic’s or interact with those people at all)

on this blog we're big believers of "doing what you want forever"

but to be honest when it comes to mischaracterising i'm probably the worst for it, i'll just pick one character trait and just latch onto it permanently

like i don't even remember anything about sae niijima but whenever i put something in the microwave i still slam the table like YOU REHEATED LASAGNA YOU MUST HAVE HAD THE HELP OF A MICHELIN STAR CHEF

[bookshelf-for-stuff-i-wanna-read]

Masterlist of Masterlists Blogs

A list for each masterlist and the person who it's from, just for a visual reference

Edit: I fucking forgot but now in spite doing it later this month because there are so many writers who have cool writing stuff but I keep forgetting and getting overwhelmed and worried I’m going to forget them because my brain is being a little shit like that. Idk how tags work, if they do without having to post it or whatever but if I tag you, you’re cool and I swear one day I will get myself to stop procrastinating on starting to read (the hardest part tbh)

Basically it’ll be the person/blog, short synapse of their writing, and whatever the fuck I thought was interesting and wanted to read later because I keep fearing I’m going to forget and that does not bode well with mental health creating stupid unnecessary anxiety

…I am going to procrastinate on this fuck you future me

HAHA SIKE YOU THOUGHT PAST ME

basic structure is this

@/[blog name]

recommended/saved thing to read (if any. Mainly specifics and also a brief, uh, briefing)

tags that they tend to fall under (#fluff or #whump or whatever. Will be very basic in terms of tagging I’m not good at complicated stuff)

It will be constantly updated as I find new things and info. Also these are in no particular order, maybe one day organize in terms of reading content but for now it’s gonna be a mess. Gonna be a mess of blogs and eventually I’ll add descriptions when I have more time because it’ll be easier than trying to remember each block if that makes sense.

Also words are hard so sorry if I sound like a broken record for some of them. They’re all great, regardless of whether you’re giving the blorbos hurt or comfort or throwing them into a wall and then giving them a blanket. Y’all are positively epic with you’re writing don’t ever stop

Also, because I feel the urge to add because I feel like I’m somehow being a fraud and two-faced liar (I overthink a lot okay?), I am technically of the blog @idkanonymystuff for reference. Adding that because I don’t want to accidentally have people think I’m two separate people it makes me feel bad and want to be as apologetic as this

https://youtu.be/XspDkqEtWFE?si=MxUloG4CM1GZKRSW

(Hopefully that works, if not, search up Japanese Apology Olympics)

Added a cut so that if it’s reblogged it doesn’t take up the entire thing lol because it’s looong

I’m putting this post here because I like learning about others blorbos and also they have stories behind them and I like that

Also putting this post here because it has a bunch of blogs for writing people. Mostly heroes and villains but ye

ーーー

@jumpywhumpywriter

Honestly everything, but meaning to get to the Vampires and Villains crossover mainly and also the books involving Shadow and Thomas (I forgo title). All of it is hecking amazing and very well written, first started at the Crippled Hero and went from there. All of it is great! Personal favorite probs the Coffee shop

Whump, heroes and villains, fantasy (? Idk, there’s mythology creatures and world built stuff it’s all cool)

—

@unknownogre

Also everything. Not anything specifically, maybe the Ao3 stuff but all of the writings are good

Fantasy, heroes and villains (occasionally), fluff (?idk if that counts but there’s some wholesome stuff there)

—

@paingoes

The Destroyer’s Trilogy, either on Tumblr or Ao3. Been meaning to read it but starting is the hardest part. Damn you procrastination

Whump, living weapon (not a tag here I don’t think but that’s the story content. Mainly for Destroyer), recovery (rubies), think that’s all but I’m dumb so sue me

—

@heroes-villains-side-blog

Honestly they just have a bit of everything (and as the name implies, it’s all heroes and villains). Also good for worldbuilding ideas (from the stories)

Hecking all the tags, but I personally like the crack tag. Also fluff and soft ____. I’m a sucker for that stuff okay? Not just whump (though that’s good as well)

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@chaotic-orphan (and also @macknus technically?)

Main ones are ones I’ve already read, Benign Mischeif (really hecking good I love it) and the delirious villain x hero caretaker (also really hecking good, fingers crossed that vengeance is had. Iykyk). Maybe check out the other ones and see if they spark interest

Whump, heroes and villains, fantasy and found family (for the benign mischief. Maybe also fluff but that’s probably a stretch)

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@thepenultimateword

Not entirely sure, but all the series are quite good and have nice fluff. No immediate thoughts on what to read but it’s great for fuzzy/comfort feelings (as far as I know/have read. Will update if there’s more)

Heroes and villains, fluff, fantasy (kinda? There is some fantasy)

—

@thoughtsonhurtandcomfort

All their stuff is the absolute shit (if you’re reading this, it’s the idk anon who sent a long appreciation. Been lurking), amazing whump and comfort/recovery (absolutely phenomenal cannot say it enough) for all their blorbos, perfect amount of shaking them in a Tupperware and then comfort. All of them are good, just, all of them. If I listened each one out and my likings this would be not be a briefing

Whump, comfort, fluff, recovery, lotta different Whumpees (not a tag but quite a nice variety), fantasy (?),

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@fourwingedwriter

As of rn, mainly the cyborg whump series (FUCKING AMAZING HIGHLY RECOMMEND), it’s very sweet and has recovery after whump (again, I really love the recovery and comfort and all that. My absolute favorite. Also I like happy endings shut up), but the other series seem cool too.

Whump, cyborg whump (specifically), fluff, recovery (that’s kinda rocky? Eh?),

—

@inkwell-and-dagger

The How to Kill an Immortal one seemed quite interesting! Been meaning to check it out later (if I don’t procrastinate into oblivion).

Whump, immortal specifically, uh, I’ll add more after I read it

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@whump-in-the-closet

Honestly a few, something about an arson elf (I forgo the name sorry) and the Saviour thing. Read the first few for the elf and all for the savior (atm) and they’re really hecking good.

Whump, heroes and villains, fantasy, living weapon (I know they have some stuff in that. Might be prompts but those are also cool)

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@the-modern-typewriter

Heroes and villains mainly, personally I read them like one would a daily magazine, all the pieces are very good. Also personal things which are cool and I want to read but alas I do not have a patron account (I forgot the titles but I will put them here once I find/remember)

Heroes and villains, fluff, whump, h/c, honestly all the tags lotta variety

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@raineandsky

Mainly heroes and villains, great variety, lotta content. Good for when you’re in a browsing sorta mood

Heroes and villains, honestly all the tags.

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@the-broken-pen

Great stuff, nothing specific but I have been meaning to browse the stories available but haven’t gotten to it. The ones I HAVE read though are amazing and have nice feelings.

Heroes and villains, fantasy, fluff and angst (as of rn those are mainly the genres of the ones I’ve read.)

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@whumpsday

Mainly the Kane and Jim series, it’s fucking phenomenal (sorry for alternating curse usage I’m inconsistent), one of the first series I got into, absolutely impeccable storyline. The prequel is great set up, the Jim arc makes me want to ram a silver sword up Kane’s ass, the Kane arc made me feel sorry for them (especially after knowing all of dudes history and lack of persuasion. The whump parts were gooooood though), and the current arc makes me feel warm and fuzzy and gave me inspo for my own storylines. All in all, great shit and can’t wait to see how the next arcs eventually unfold

Whump, vampire whump specifically, recovery and comfort, fluff (kinda??? Like at the end),

—

@mj-iza-writer

No series to follow but they do have some good shit. Great one-shots (?) and I really love the recovery/comfort that usually happens at the end (again, personal favorite thing to read.). Highly recommend

Whump, recovery, comfort, fluff (probably doesn’t fit exactly but some things are quite sweet imo. Do correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not good with tags

—

@whumpisgoodwhumpislife

Great series with Everest and the battery and fish man. It’s a nice amount of whump and comfort together and I really like the fluffiness (?) of the recovery part of things (rip battery man at the moment).

Whump, recovery, comfort, vampire and living battery and mer (those are the three of them)

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@befuddled-calico-whump (and also @whumpflash technically?)

I have yet to read their stuff but all of it seems really hecking epic. Penumbra sparked interest but then I procrastinated so hard on starting it that I feel guilty (what?). But all of it seems really epic! Also comics! All really cool! Personal fave that I actually finished from getting started was the whole testing the effectiveness of torture methods (Test Track, that’s what it was) and it’s horrible I love it (and I mean that in the most genuine way possible)

Whump, comics (? Might make a new tag for that cause comics are also great!), lotta stuff lotta variety

—

@save-the-villainous-cat

Their stuff is the absolute shit (like all the others)! Heroes and villains and the writing is so well done (god I feel like I’m being repetitive curse my sporadic vocabulary). They have fluff (fucking phenomenal), they have angst (I don’t think I’ve checked it out yet lol but it’s probably fucking phenomenal) they have whump (also fucking phenomenal), they have horny jail (what? I may be asexual but, uh, okay idk I mainly focus on the closeness and intimacy not the, uh, y’know. Anyways, it’s also fucking phenomenal), it’s all great! All around absolutely beautiful works of literature

Heroes and villains, fluff, angst, whump, smut (the four nations—),

—

@sir-fenris

The Curse of Withering…man it’s fucking beautiful. I have plans on reblogging it with commentary and stuff but procrastinating and overthinking got the better of me. I will do it in the future (mayhaps) but until then, it was hands down one of the best things I’ve read. The concept, the worldbuilding (via random posts that aren’t the main storyline), the characters, the way the words convey the feelings and characters and all that so smoothly, honestly perfection. I eagerly await whatever morsels or writings come next and that Cyrus can have tomato soup and grilled cheese and a blanket or whatever the heck they want because they hecking deserve it

Whump, living weapon, more tags to be added as the story unfolds

—

@lovelizards

Great whump stuff in terms of both writing and not writing (art. The word is art)! Also apparently stardew valley somewhat which I’m not complaining about, hell yeah! As for series, honestly all of them are quite interesting, just a matter of getting started

Whump, comics (okay not really but it’s a tag that’ll work in the future for when I get around to reblogging stuff with art and all that),

—

@those-damn-snippets

Beautiful writings in their own and they have collection of heroes and villains stuff that are also great to read! I particularly like the Breakfast in Bed storyline, something about drunkness, Chaotic good (the villain is a mood), and something involving a four-armed monster dude. There are a lot more but they’re all phenomenal!

Heroes and villain, fluff, angst (?),

—

@creweemmaeec11

Heroes and villains, fluffy writings all around, all of it is great! Been meaning to finish one of the series, Panic as a gift (I forgo title) but all of them, series and snippets, are beautiful!

Heroes and villains, fluff,

—

@melpomenelamusa

The one named chimera I think was the name (shut up it’s late) but it seems really hecking interesting! The whole concept is really cool and just, god words are not on my side atm but yeah seems epic. Definitely on my to read list

Whump, nonhuman (?),

—

@oros-ash3s

All of their things seem really interesting and in depth and complex to the point where my brain gets overwhelmed trying to absorb all the details but in a good way. I’m very curious to learn about the storylines (understanding/comprehension be damned /j) and is definitely on the to read list!

Whump, I know there ARE other tags it could fall under but I have yet to find them sorry, will update as I get into it

@writing-prompt-s

Technically they aren’t a writing blog, BUT the prompts and reblog of said prompts have some absolute gems of literature. Great for if you don’t know what to read and can just scroll around until you find a prompt that’s interesting and then just look through that prompts reblogs for writing. It’s fucking worth it, found a few of my favorite writers there (like unknownogre)!

All the tags, just, all of them, it can be anything like Barbie

—

@defectivehero

Also heroes and villains though with more so a focus on whump for the most part (though if my short memory serves me right, a few that aren’t as whumpy. Could be wrong tho). It’s been a minute since I checked them out (I do have plans to browse a bit), but their writing is phenomenal, the emotions and actions and all those writing things are done so well. Highly recommend!

Heroes and villains, whump/angst (mostly), might be other tags but I’ll add them as I remember because it’s seriously been a minute

—

@neon-kazoo

Mainly heroes and villains stuff, I’ve read quite a few of the things and they’re all phenomenal. No immediate series that intrigue me to get started on but it’s great for browsing!

Heroes and villains, all the other type of tags idk man it’s a lot and I’m stupid /j

—

@melpomenelamusa (for some reason I can’t remember if I already did this one. If I did, apologies)

The main intriguing thing is the chimera series (the one with the half-animal peoples). Seems like an extremely intriguing concept and is in my to read list!

Whump, non human (specifically. I think?),

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@writinglittlepains

Got introduced from looking through either chaotic orphan or closet-whump person (I am so sorry I forgo name whump-in-the-closet?), the speedster one if fucking crazy. I love it and can’t wait to see where it goes next!

Heroes and villains, whump, lab specifically???,

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@secretwhumplair

Recently got quite invested into the “No Warrior” storyline and so far (still quite in the beginning) it’s hecking great! Actually phenomenal, and that’s before I’ve even read more than like the first 5 installment. Currently on consequences and I am god damn hooked on the storyline! Can’t wait to see how it ends!

Whump, comfort, uh, fantasy kinda? It has Vikings idk man

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@mirensiart

Okay, again, I know this is technically more so a comic but shut up it’s my bookshelf and I do what I want (plus comics are just books with way too much picture to word ratio which is great for my stupid attention span :D). The LU pain sharing AU is great! Also really hecking good art. Also I like Legend of Zelda stuff, it’s cool. Fun fact, actually I think the first reason I started regularly coming into tumblr lol

Comics, fantasy (? The video game characters are technically fantasy Esq), idk if whump counts but kinda?, fluff, I guess it could technically be slice of life but in a really strange and complicated sense. I did say I suck at tags so forgive me this is hard agh-

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@kythonsechos

Mostly fantasy stuff and while there isn’t a lot of stuff they’ve done, the few pieces of writing they have done hooked me and despite not knowing whatever world they have going on I am god damn invested in it. Also the writing is done phenomenally!

Fantasy, uh, atm that’s kinda it. Maybe kinda worldbuilding??

—

@just-horrible-things

Saw the master list of “Unlikely Salvation” from another blog and it seemed really hecking interesting. I just have not yet had the ability to stop procrastinating and actually get started on it.

Whump, fantasy (?), uh, more to come once I read/figure out if there’s anything else

—

Okay another break god why are there so many of you—

[ultimate-submas-tournament]

Do you like Submas? Do you like polls? Do you wish there was more polls to vote for train boys on?

Then boy do I have the tournament for you!

Introducing the

ULTIMATE SUBMAS TOURNAMENT

Where all the Ingos compete to find the best Ingo, and all the Emmets compete to find the best Emmet- and then they duke it out!!!!!

Come explore this melting pot of different AU creations from across the website- including your own!

That’s right! You too can compete in this for fun event! Get yourself out there!

Here’s the rules and how to sign up:

1) No bl///shipping AUs or bl///shipping blogs may enter. This is a platonic only submas tourney.

2) No NSFW 18+ AUs or NSFW 18+ blogs may enter. I want this to be welcoming to younger folks to so I’m gonna have to draw a line here.

3) You can only enter your own AU. You can share this post with other submas creators, but you can only personally enter AUs that you have made content for.

4) You can only enter AUs that have content made for it. It doesn’t matter if that content is a fic, a few drawings, or a series of interconnected tumblr asks- as long as there is content you can link me to, it qualifies. 

5) You may enter up to two AUs (one for each brother). This may be lowered to one AU per user if the demand gets too high.

6) While non inc/st ships are not outright banned, AUs must be more than “canon compliant warden Ingo but he’s dating Melli”. Give us something fun to work with.

7) AUs can, and are encouraged to crossover with other content. Cretur AUs are also allowed because turning blorbos into cretur is fun.

8) Only Ingos and Emmets may be entered. We all love Elesa but this ain’t her tourney. (Fusions can be entered, but they will be placed in a fusion only bracket that will not affect the main tourney)

9) Lower your expectations. This is for fun, there is no prize, and statistically you will not win. Please do not whine and complain when you are inevitably knocked out.

10) BE NICE TO THE CONESTENTS. Holy heck don’t make me catch y'all harassing other people for ANY REASON. I will block you. Don’t make me do it.

How to enter:

Reblog this post with 

1) The name of your AU 

2) A link to your fic /tumblr tag /masterpost 

3) An image that you want to represent your AU. (If you have no image, one of my associates or I will draw a simple one- but it won’t be very good and you shouldn’t expect much)

4) The name of the preferred brother you wish to enter (preferred brother may be overruled if the brackets get too uneven)

(If you plan on entering a second AU, you must do these steps again with a second reblog. The first AU you enter will be considered the priority if we get too many entries.)

(Entries may be denied for things like: side bl///shipping accounts, pedo//ilia, harassment or other things in that same vein. They may also be denied for more benign things like, “hey I love you lots but this is just canon Ingo”)

Entries must be submitted by the first of June!! Thank you for participating and ALL ABOARD!

[writing-for-life]

Nuance in (The Sandman) Fandom

Send me asks about everything Sandman-related!

I thought a lot over the past few days, partly prompted by discourse on here, partly due to a couple of “interesting” asks and messages I received (the type you don’t answer). I *think* they might have been prompted by engaging in discourse on topics like anti-blackness/racism, misogyny/sexism, TERF characters etc in The Sandman.

Fandoms are always getting super sensitive if someone shines a critical lens on their favourite works, authors and characters. So to make this clear (in case it isn’t already obvious from my brain-rot blog):

I love The Sandman. I love Neil Gaiman. I have an extremely soft spot for Dream (and Desire btw, who deserves a lot more character analysis than just being summed up as “villainous, sexy bitch”. One day, perhaps ;)).

I can read The Sandman and just get lost in the story, even after decades and many rereads. 

But I can also view it through a critical lens—these things aren’t mutually exclusive.

Not critical enough or too critical?

As fans, we can get trapped in certain thinking patterns, like:

“My blorbo can do no wrong”-syndrome 

“Characters with flaws are inherently problematic and imply authorial endorsement of those actions” 

“Characterisation and problematic subtext are one and the same” (aka overanalysing and looking for problems where there are none is the death of every story, but failing to see problematic patterns where they are clearly visible is a problem, too).

Don't say anything bad about my favourite character

I think this doesn’t need much further exploration. It’s not my personal way of looking at stories through permanently rose-tinted glasses (I always feel it stalls my experience, but my experience is not everyone else's). Some people prefer that type of escapism, and I’m good with that (although the downside is of course that by not willing to engage with issues, we can unwillingly perpetuate them). Live and let live, ship and let sail. But please, for the love of god: Don’t insult people via their inboxes or messages just because their opinions and preferences don’t align with yours. I’m not going to sugarcoat it or phrase it “nicely”: It’s infantile (and a form of bullying btw), end of.

How can you even like a character who's so horrible? And that author must be equally horrible, too

We have to separate flawed characters, even those who are written to be really problematic, from real-life endorsement of these actions. 

Author, narrator and character are three fundamentally different things, and don’t overlap as much as some people seem to think. 

We can write vile, despicable characters to make a point (for me, Thessaly was always a prime example for this, and I explained why here). We probably hate them as we write them. I don’t know what else to say, but this facet of writing seems to get more and more lost on people, and it’s a worry. Crying for sanitised characterisation is one step away from censorship. We explore what is problematic about people and humanity through story. That’s how we process and learn. It’s nothing new, but it becomes impossible if we can’t write flawed and even disgusting characters. 

Face value…

Since I’m mostly in The Sandman fandom, I often read that its ending is hopeless, and that’s supposedly the entire message. 

It is agonisingly sad, yes. But is it truly hopeless? I personally see it as quite the opposite, but of course that’s my opinion, coloured by my life experiences.

I also get that show-only fans often haven’t read the comics, or at least not the whole arc. And as such, their outlook from what they’ve seen so far (and choose to focus on) has to be different by default. I also understand that many people are quite new to the comics, even if they have read them in their entirety. I’ve sat with them for 30 years, and I still find new things on every reread (and I read it more times than anyone should 🙈), and I still don’t feel like I’ve understood it all. Perhaps because I still haven’t fully understood myself (and it’s unlikely I ever will). If there’s one thing The Sandman isn’t, it’s one-dimensional and easy to grasp in its whole depth.

I just wrote a ginormous meta on it, if you’re interested, it’s here:

Subtext, (not so) glorious subtext

This is where it gets complicated:

We shouldn’t mix up characterisation and story subtext. Overanalysing every line to death will always make us find something that’s “problematic”, when it really isn’t in the wider context of the story.

Zooming in is NOT always a good thing. Sometimes, we actually need to zoom out. 

But subtext *can be* (accidentally) problematic. Even in stories we love. And none of this negates what I previously wrote.

Stories have real-life implications of sorts, and we need to be able to talk about it. That’s where those slightly flabbergasting, hostile inbox messages come in, and I want to expand on that "topic of contention" a bit:

Neil himself confirmed that the Endless basically warp reality, and that this is why, after Dream’s failed relationship with Nada, many black women in his vicinity suffer terrible fates (Ruby and Carla in particular). And that this spell is only broken when he dies, and that it is the reason why Gwen doesn’t suffer the same fate. And said Gwen then gets used as a plot device to basically absolve Hob (who canonically really is a problematic character, whether show-only fans like it or not) from his slaver past. Once again, very clearly: No one is making this up. Neil confirmed it (for the comics, and that was over 20 years ago. It remains to be seen if his stance has changed as we move into that arc in the TV show).

I don't think it is correct to imply that Dream as a character is racist (I've read that, too) because he logically can’t be. He holds *all* the collective unconscious. He is also, strictly speaking, not white. He is everything and nothing, and he shows up in many different ethnicities throughout the whole arc, depending on who looks at him. But Neil played with a subtext here (reality warping due to a bad relationship which then affects everyone with similar physical traits) that will read very differently to a black person than it reads to a white person, and we have to understand why that is an *extremely* slippery slope.

Plus, we are supposed to see Hob, who *was* a racist at some point (you can’t not be if you’re a slave-trader—it’s impossible by default) as redeemed. And yes, he *does* regret deeply, good for him (and if I were saying this aloud, you would hear the sarcasm in my voice, because it is indeed all about him. We are to sympathise/empathise with him and his character growth while there isn’t much mention of the people he maltreated). But also: it was a black woman who basically forgave him (with dialogue that personally makes me cringe). And that black woman who offers forgiveness is not truly a black woman—she is a character written by a white man. And as much as author and character are not the same (see above), there is an inherent sensitivity in that power imbalance that we can't brush under the carpet.

I don’t think Neil is racist. Probably quite the opposite, and I can even see that his intentions were good from a storytelling point of view. BUT intention and impact are two fundamentally different things, and telling the story this way (comic version) betrays blindspots only white people have. Just like women have blindspots when they tell stories about men, and men have blindspots when they tell stories about women (and there are a few of those in The Sandman, too). And and and…

As storytellers, we can’t always speak from lived experience. It’s impossible. And that also means we occasionally make mistakes that look bad in hindsight, even if our intentions were good.

I guess the proof is in the pudding: What do we do when people who *have* that lived experience tell us it looks bad? If they inform us why it is hurtful, plays into old stereotypes etc?

Are we willing to listen and yield (both are the foundations of allyship btw), or are we insisting that our viewpoint as someone *without* lived experience is right? That lived experience extends to all lived experiences (sex/gender, sexual orientation, age...), and from all we’ve heard from Neil so far, it seems important to him to rewrite what he sees differently today. Whether they’ll always get it right for the show—we’ll see. At the moment, it looks a lot better than in the comics, and certain issues are already being handled with a lot more sensitivity, but a few problems remain.

Pushing back on criticism that comes from people with lived experience is problematic—I’d encourage us to think about what it looks like if a white majority in the fandom is basically saying that the opinions of POC are essentially “overreactions” (and yes, that happened).

It’s complicated. The Sandman was written in a different time, and I think we have to distinguish between things that weren’t really problematic at the time but have aged poorly (again, Thessaly springs to mind, and I have lived experience as a queer person during that time, so I can see it in context while at the same time acknowledging that I would make changes to bring it to the present day), and things that were always a problem due to blindspots. They were a problem in 1990, and if they don’t get changed, they are still a problem today.

This fandom is generally so much more open and nicer than others I know. But that doesn’t mean it’s infallible, because it’s full of humans. 

Nuance is sorely needed, in both story interpretation and interaction between said humans.

[crazylittlejester]

*warriors being least favorite in the survey*

alright lads you know what to do *cracks knuckles* time to write more fics giving wars the characterization he deserves.

~sadly i prolly would have had him low on my list when i first got into LU, but your blog and fanfic has helped me See The Light that is wars being everyones brother and also having Trauma that we can use for the angst machine. so new idea: everyone who walks into the lu fandom has a mandatory reading of your fic so we can brainwash convince them of war’s superiority.

anyways. i just came off the high of writing an essay thats due in *checks watch* less than an hour. so take this all with as much salt as you please

When I was first getting into LU Twi was my favorite based off design alone and then when I actually started READING through LU it was immediately Wars. Idk how some people literally actively dislike him 😭 Like yes I am absolutely 100% biased, and he doesn’t have to be everyone’s favorite, BUT HOW DO SOME PEOPLE ACTIVELY DISLIKE HIM??? *sigh* 💔 I just dont get it

ALSDKDKKSDK PFFFT im glad i could make at least a few people like my blorbo, he is very important to me (“no shit, jes” says everyone in the back)

finishing an essay an hour before its due? youre so me. congrats on finishing it tho 🙌🙌🙌

[tapenessa]

YAYYY YAYYYYY TALKING ABOUT MY FAVORITEST GIRL EVER WHILE TRYING NOT TO SPOIL MUCH!!!! ahhhh her name is claudia de point du lac lioncourt eparvier. shes a vampire. shes eternally 14 and will always be viewed as such despite her age. she was draining people half her size the day she was turned. shes silly and fun and has a diary where she writes what people say to her before they die. she was adopted by louis and lestat, two other vampires, and as a character in the show describes, she was essentially "a bandaid for a shitty marriage." her birth was never about her. but they were happy once. ohhhh they were happy once my happy vampire family.. anways she accidentally kills her first boyfriend and lestat adds insult to injury. from this event they grow apart more. they are and will always be alike. after SomethingTM her and louis flee to paris. she finds a passion for theater. she gets her joy back and finds community and sort of vampire pride in the theater. she falls in love with a snarky dressmaker named madeleine and asks louis to help turn her. but its not like how she was turned; the want is mutual. madeleine wants more than anything to live with her in undeath. claudia can finally have something for herself and someone to have it with. ohhhhhhh my girl ohhh my shayla

CLAUDIA CLAUDIA CLAUDIA I AM HOLDING HER IN MY HANDS IM SO HAPPY THAT QUEEN FOUND SOEMTHING FOR HERSELF SISNSKSNZKSMSMSJJSNDNDDN LET MY BLORBO IN LAW BE HAPPYYYYYY

AND she becomes a theatre kid. wild. absolutely insane.

Love that for her. AND HER BURTH WAS NEVER ABOUT HER THINGS NEVER BEING ABOUT HER ALWAYS ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE CLAUDIA NOOOOOOOOOOK THEY DONT DEESVER YOU ����💔💔💔💔💔 I HATE TRAGEDY I AHYE ANGST (lying) ALSO LESBIAN EYERNAL LESBIAN LOVE I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

ANDDDD OH BOY. GOOD LORD. vanny you are getting THE yap session of the century. way more coherent then the one i gave hearts (IM SORRY HEARTS) because she is THE blorbo i am so obsessed with her. I might turn this blog into a fan account for her cuz uh. good Lordy lord. (I’LL TRU NOT TO SPOIL TOL MUCH I’ll TRY MY BEST (it’s not gonna be that hard cuz she has like . ten minutes of screen time per arc 💀))

SO. blorbo of the month is my soecialest girl SHOKO IEIRI 🌚🌚🌚 she’s a doctor and she got her medical license through cheating. medical malpractice queen. she’s one of the only sorcerers capable of using reverse cursed technique (basically she can heal injuries magical touch that kind of shit) so she’s super valuable and never goes out to fight on the battlefield, but she’s overworked as hell because of it. That’s why she has eye bags ❤️ AND she smoked in high school and what’s VERY INTERESTING TO ME. about this is that she’s a very nonchalant kind of gal,,,, she always seems like she doesn’t gaf. she got disappointed when she couldn’t dissect a teenager, she didn’t get upset when her best friend came up to her and said “oh yeah i hate non-sorcerers and i’m gonna kill them all lol” and we never see her cry BUT. youre told in like this character profile only in the manga that she quit smoking five years ago, but then shit happens to her OTHER best friend and we see her SMOKING. AGAIN. SHE PICKED THE HABIT BACK UP. and when her bff is fighting for his life we see her smoking PACKS. LITERALLY PACKS. CUZ SHE DOS CARE! SHE DOES GAF! SHE JUST CANT BREAK DOWN BECAUSE THATS NOT HER JOB! SHES GOT LIVES TO SAVE! And she’s the one that does the autopsies on dead sorcery and civilians and that kind of shit so it’s like heavily implied she’s dealt with the bodies of her dead friends,,,,,,,, and her best friend (the one fighting for his life Lmfao) kind of isolated himself from her after their best friend basically ran away to start a cult and she’s upset BECAUSE SHE CARES!!! AND SHES RIGJT THERE!!!! SHES BEEN THERE THE WHOLE TIME!!! And she’s SOOO TRAGIC AND SUCH A NEAT CHARAVTER BUT SHE GETS NO FAWKING SCREN TIME CUZ THE AUTHOR IS AFRAID FO WRITING WOMEN 😭😭😭😭 but at the very end of the manga we do see her quit smoking so there’s that i guess 😞 but i also love making her suffer. tbh. i have TONS of angst fics i wanna write for her because THERE IS SO MUCH. angst to explore with her. anyways here’s a bunch of photos cuz she’s also fine as hell and yeagh. women. womab.

[ghuleh-recs]

So is this a rec blog or art blog or gif blog? Would you ever consider picking a lane? Like your gifs are really pretty, but a lot of ppl don’t care about fanfic and they won’t follow you because of the recs. Or if you want to get more reach with your art, you can’t reblog all that other art all the time. I’m not trying to be rude, you’re obviously multi-talented—I just think your engagement would be loads better if you didn’t try to do so many things.

I’m a little conflicted about this message lol 🙃 I’m not here for engagement? I’m here because I love this band and I love a lot of the creatives here on tumblr? I basically made this side blog so I could share and gush about everyone’s hard work without alienating mutuals I’ve had for 10+ years on my main. I don’t always have the spoons for rec lists and art inspo doesn’t hit me frequently—so in the meantime I make gifs of moments I think are fun or cute or pretty. There are 700+ lovely people who’ve decided to follow me in the past couple months—that’s way more “engagement” than I ever expected tbh.

Can I tell you the secret to enjoying your time on tumblr dot com? It’s not about gaining a huge following. Not even a little bit. It’s finding a handful of like-minded individuals to yell about your blorbos with. It’s drawing a picture or writing a story about said blorbos when you can’t contain your love for them and sharing it other people. It’s making a gif of a man in a mask when his thighs jiggle because it’s fun.

So to answer your questions: all of the above and no, probably not. I’m just vibing. I’ve got a full-time job and a fulfilling social life. I don’t really have time to worry about tumblr engagement. Thanks for the compliments though ♡

[lucky-ladybugs-lovelies]

Blorbos Ask as Survey

who’s the Blorbo that you’ve never posted about on your blog? … Don’t know. Seems like I post about most all of them.

who was your first ever Blorbo, who was your childhood Blorbo, and are they still your Blorbo? Maybe Captain Hook from Fox’s Peter Pan and the Pirates or the 90's TV show Flash. I still have fond nostalgia feelings for them both. Childhood Blorbos I usually think of as my favorite Darkwing Duck villains: Megavolt, Bushroot…. I like Negaduck a lot too, but I don’t know if I’d call him a Blorbo. It sounds too cutesy a term for a vicious character like that, lol.

was there any specific point / any specific moment that suddenly made this character your Blorbo, or did you slowly grow to love them more and more until they became a Blorbo to you? It’s generally a gradual shift of coming to love them more and more.

what’s the thing you love the most about your Blorbo? Let’s shift to talking mostly about Sephiroth. I love his kindness and compassion.

what’s the thing you dislike the most about your Blorbo? That he doesn’t have a canon redemption arc in any timeline.

if you could talk to your Blorbo, what would you say to them? I love you so much, and so many people love you. You’re not alone!

what’s the one thing the fandom gets wrong about your Blorbo? Not sure. Years ago, we all thought sane Seph was probably very stern, but now more information’s coming out that shows he’s very gentle and sweet. The perfect boss, according to the Rebirth Ultimania.

is your Blorbo an introvert or extrovert? Introvert.

describe your Blorbo in 3 words. Kind, sweet, protective.

if your Blorbo were real, would you trust them with your life? The sane one, absolutely. The insane one, most likely not.

have you ever written a fanfic about your Blorbo? Tons of them.

do you talk to your family or in-real-life friends about your Blorbo? Mom and Dad knew all about the fannishness years ago. Mom used to love him too.

is there any crime, any wrongdoing your Blorbo could commit that would make you stop loving them and remove them from your hyperfixation entirely? I hope not. The fact that he went insane before committing atrocities certainly makes it easier to forgive than if he’d just gone bad. Some fans used to believe that, but I think by now most people realize he really did lose his mind. Square has tried very hard to emphasize that, perhaps aware that some people thought otherwise.

have you ever distanced yourself from your Blorbo / have you ever left a fandom because people in the fandom were being too toxic? I don’t think I’ve ever really stopped loving a character, but I have definitely left some toxic fandoms/areas of fandoms.

have you ever gotten involved in ship wars? Years ago, perhaps a little. Not that I wanted to be, but it seemed like others dragged me into it if I liked a pairing they didn’t.

is your Blorbo canonically alive? Hmmm. Is he? To be honest, I really don’t know what Seph’s current status is considered to be! It’s complicated. But I’m going to say Yes.

do you like seeing your Blorbo suffer? No. Not unless it’s part of a hurt/comfort fic and there’ll be sweetness. And sometimes even then, I may not like the suffering. I can be picky about what kinds of problems I want to see in hurt/comfort fics. I’m even pickier now than I used to be.

do you ship your Blorbo with any character? Yes. Usually Cloud. Sometimes Aerith. And I love familial sweetness with Zack!

when it comes to Blorbos, do you have a type? They are often introverts. Usually kind. If they’re “bad guys,” there has to be something that attracts me to them, like a relationship with a particular character that’s intriguing or some hint of goodness still within them.

if you have more than one Blorbo, do you love them all equally? I have so many. I have hyperfixations where I focus on particular ones, but I’m not sure whether I love them all equally. Seph, for instance, means so very much to me and there’s a lot more connected with him than there is about some of the others.

if your Blorbo is from a live-action media, are you also a fan of the actor who plays them? Any that are from live-action things, yes, I am fans of the actors. I am also generally fans of the voice actors for characters who are not from live-action things. :)

would you still love your Blorbo if they were real? Talking of Seph again, I’m sure I would. The sane Seph, at least. I might struggle with the insane one, especially if I didn’t know what had happened to get him that way.

is your Blorbo a victim of badly written script / bad plot / character assassination in the hands of canon? Some people feel him losing his mind doesn’t make sense, and it is hard to swallow sometimes when he seemed so stable. But when you really stop and pick apart exactly why it happened and what led up to it, it does make a heartbreaking sense. And the more Square shows how good he was, the more devastating it is that he isn’t redeemed yet!

if you could change one canonical thing about your Blorbo, what would it be? He needs a redemption arc. And I don’t just want to see one from another dimension who never lost his mind; I want the ones who did lose their minds to be saved.

how did you first discover your Blorbo? Watching Advent Children.

when you first discovered your Blorbo, did you realize from that moment that they would become your Blorbo? I absolutely did not. I hated him when I first saw him.

do you gatekeep your Blorbo? / would you want more people to know about your Blorbo? Yes!

have you ever been attacked online just because you liked your Blorbo? Not Seph, I don’t think, but I feel like I have been about someone else in the past. I don’t want to discuss the details publicly, but it’s a highly upsetting thing to me and I am just baffled that loving a particular character could incite such negative feelings from others.

has a fanfic about your Blorbo ever made you cry? Yes. I keep bawling writing sad things in fics. Lol. And I have cried reading some very powerful fics by others, including @PrismaticPichu .

do you think this character will still be your Blorbo three years from now on? Pretty sure, yes. Seph has always been deeply special to me, even when he isn’t an actual hyperfixation.

[soullessjack]

so one of my other problems with babyjack is that the fandom just seems to have this sort of collective cognitive dissonance about it, in almost any context or discussion. like this post as probably my only standing example (bc it’s the only one to have gotten traction), there are all these tags about how babyjack leads to bad dean criticism, or how it’s nice in aus but they want canon complex jack, and like I’m not entirely disagreeing with that, but it is so fucking frustrating that people are still ignoring the actual problem with it and either only focusing on the most surface level issues that personally affect them or their corner of the fandom, or making up some point of acceptability for it that frankly isn’t theirs to make.

it’s the autistic experience of our struggles never being seen or cared about until they become other people’s inconveniences, and our voices being used to say something else entirely. when the main takeaway of that post is how the fandom’s treatment of jack being in a way he’s explicitly shown to hate being treated directly mirrors autistic people’s struggle for autonomy in the real world, I really do not need you to make it about how it makes your golden website boy dean look like a big meanie pants, okay? that’s definitely a part of it, but it’s not at all what we are talking about, and it 100% should not be the only reason you care.

and especially when the other takeaway is how this is just a smaller scale issue that comes from autistic infantilization, the absolute last take I want to hear is that you find that infantilization acceptable as long it’s an AU or something else separated from canon. believe me, I’m beyond glad more people actually prefer canon complex jack—like, I don’t think you guys understand that that is legitimately a rarity to find here— but the thing about babyjack is that the concept itself is inherently ableist, and directly relies on his complexities (and the representation he means for us) being removed and erased so that he can even exist in the context of those AU’s. It feels very… ‘have your cake and eat it too’ to me.

I’m trying not to sound angry or accusatory, but I am also tired of having to force civility on a problem that’s pretty much just an open secret thar everyone collectively ignores and beats bushes around solely because they prioritize #domesticdestiel over all. I mean, do you guys even hear yourselves sometimes? Like half of it just boils down to “Autistic infantilization is always bad, except for this one context where it makes my ship look domestic and redeems my blorbo,” and it’s getting really fucking annoying to have to constantly explain something that is not only painfully easy to understand, but is understood and actively ignored, and still play nice so that somebody out there might listen.

So many people will say they like canon Jack and want more of him from the fandom, and I more than agree, but motherfucker you have a blog! You have the tools! Be the change you want to see! He doesn’t have to be your fav or your blog thesis blorbo, but if you want it, you are literally fully equipped to make it! Write some meta, draw some fanart, whatever. Better yet, you could even stop engaging with and perpetuating content that actively pushes down on what you want and, I must reiterate, is actively harmful and ableist. If you want domestic silliness go right ahead, but you don’t need to resort to ableism to do it.

I don’t think I’m asking too much or asking rudely, and frankly I don’t even think I owe niceties to anyone when it’s a problem that has been openly ignored for 6 years and holds plenty of bearing in the real world concerning my identity and community and shit we face constantly. Outside of our screens, we are constantly fighting for autonomy and recognition and representation, and even to be seen as people. Online spaces, especially fandom spaces, are a huge source of escapism and support that we wouldn’t get otherwise. So for the love of god, please stop bringing that fight here.

[klausinamarink]

writers 20 questions

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

45 at the moment! I have a few more wips to post on the way so the number is going to go higher

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

130,657

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Things. I’m looking to branch to other fandoms though like The Locked Tomb in the future

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Standup, You’re Never Too Much, Recapturing the Sunset, Just Another Flesh Wound, One Kid Gone, Another Up and Vanished

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes!! But not always as sometimes I immediately forget to reply and when I do, it’s a few weeks or a month later skkshdk forgive me

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Biting Back in Anger. It’s Eddie having a bad day and blowing up at Steve, who leaves trying not to cry :)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

uhhh most of my fics have happy endings but I think I can nominate The Tinsel Tradition. It has Steve, Eddie, and Robin building a home together in NYC, healed and happy in every queer way!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

nope, thank god

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I’ve been writing more smut recently and exploring some areas. I’m honestly gotten more comfortable though it’s still a challenge to get the right words without coming off as awkward lmao. but that’s Phil’s (@theheadlessphilosopher) job 🫶💜

10. Do you write crossovers?

I’m more of a fusion au writer who borrows the setting and elements and places my blorbos in there than a straight-up crossover. Unless that counts as a crossover? Those two terms are kinds confusing sometimes..

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

There are a couple folks who played around this idea with me but nothing concrete. Though I guess Phil’s beta work can count because he writes better lines and scenarios than me

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

You’re asking me, a Steddie blog—

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

oof. I have a TLOU steddie wip based on resande’s sketches, but it’s looking unlikely to be done because the person looking it as my beta reader over got busy with other things and I’ve lost the writing juice 😔

16. What are your writing strengths?

Many people tell me that I am very visceral with my descriptions, esp with horror, and setting the tension is top-notch 🥰 (I am a freak who loves gore and blood tehehehehe)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have too many ideas and a problem to actually write what I want that it comes off as juvenile to me. I also have a tendency to gloss over the editing of my fic which I’m trying to break out of.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I honestly don’t mind it at all. However, I do get taken right out of the story if the language is written literally (like kanji for Japanese, Cyrillic for Russian, etc.) and not romanized when the character is speaking because that’s not how it works

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Warrior Cats. We all started our writing careers from that series at some point in middle school lol

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Noooo, I can’t pick favourites- I love them all equally. But FINE, I’ll say it would be When Life Gives You Pickles, Make It Into Soup. I wrote this as mostly self-indulgent because I LOVE pickle soup and is the best comfort food of all time. I think anyone making soup in general for their significant other if PEAK relationship goals because who doesn’t love soup?? Of course I had to Steddie-ify it

thanks to Devon for tagging me! Tagging others with no pressure: @thefreakandthehair @pearynice @3minsover @penny00dreadful @chaosgremlinmunson

@cranberrymoons @dies-somniator

[lilbittymonster]

Updated pinned for 2025!

About the Blorbo

Name: Kitali Moonblade

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Main Job: DRG/NIN hybrid

Age: Mid 30s

Her tag is #kitali moonblade. Her inspo board tag is just #kitali. Her wolmeric ship tag is #pure azure and her wolstinien ship tag is #bastards in arms. The triad tag is #the ot3 agenda. Her shared canon tag is #into the blorboverse.

Kitali is the daughter of two mercenaries, part of the Xaela diaspora who left the Azim Steppe before the tunnel to Yanxia was sealed off. She has no memory of living on the Steppe and instead grew up in Doma. She lived in Othard for almost two decades before splitting off on her own, eventually finding herself in Aldenard by way of Gyr Abania.

In a word, Kitali Moonblade is unsettling. At first glance, she’s stoic and standoffish and spends more time observing than participating in a conversation. Even people who’ve known her for years are still surprised by her. She doesn’t make friends very easily but once she’s decided she likes someone, they’re stuck with her. Her trust is hard to win and easy to lose.

About the Blog

-This is an 18+ only blog. No exceptions. Minors will be softblocked, come back when you're older.

-Empty blogs with default icons will be reported as spam and blocked. No exceptions. I will not check your likes or your following, if you look like a bot you will be treated as a bot.

-This is my main account and will not be FFXIV exclusive! I try to tag alternate fandoms but am inconsistent. You get what you get.

-This is not a follow4follow blog. I have not done and never will do follow4follow as it is the antithesis of curating your space. Nothing personal.

-This is not a Rules As Written blog! While I enjoy using as much canon detail as possible in my storytelling, I am not beholden to it, and will bend or break it to suit my tastes. If you're someone who will treat written canon as gospel with no room for interpretation, or someone who looks down on people having headcanons that differ from established lore, you are not welcome here.

-I do try to keep FFXIV spoilers to a minimum, but it is not a guarantee. I will tag expansions pretty regularly, and will tag spoilers as "[expansion/patch] spoilers". There is no 2 week embargo bullshit here, it's extremely rude to both new players and to people who don't have the time or energy to blast through a new expansion in only 14 days.

-I don't do RP with Kitali but I do enjoy doing ask memes, writing, and gposing. The best way to interact and learn more about Kitali is to send asks from lists or go tag diving. I don't do well with open ended questions like "tell me about your WoL/ wolship", being precise and direct is the best option for me.

-I do have other OCs as part of a shared canon with some friends, who will be detailed under the cut!

Permissions

-"Can I draw your OC?" I would prefer to be asked first but yes!

-"Can I ship my OC with yours?" Generally speaking, no. There have been a couple instances with friends I've known for several years, but I'm not open to shipping with just anyone. Even if I'm friends OOC with someone there's no guarantee that the blorbos will get along.

-"Can I write fic of your OCs?" Friends that I know well can ask. Otherwise no.

-"Can I draw my OC with yours?" Friends can ask. Otherwise no.

-"Can I make 18+ creations of your OCs?" Absolutely not. Hard boundary on this one. If I want 18+ stuff I will either make it myself or commission someone else.

Other Socials

AO3 | Pillowfort | Bluesky

Other Blorbos

Timoria (she/her)

Timoria is Kitali's Ancient. Before taking the 14th Seat, she worked as an anthropologist with a focus on how new and existing creations affected their biomes, including other civilisations outside of Amaurot. She worked very closely with the concept creators of Elpis and her feedback on how creations behaved outside of the confines of the facility was essential. While not one to make concepts herself, she's collaborated with several of her friends on theirs.

Her tags are #Timoria and #the GAP

Alexandrite (they/them)

A member of the Royal Allagan Family, Alexandrite, formerly [DATA EXPUNGED], is one of the few remaining summoners within the Late Allagan Empire. Following Xande's revival, they chose to side with the new order out of self preservation and remain a figurehead within the court. They've aided in the binding of the Warring Triad, have been instrumental in the use of Meracydian dragons to enhance Allagan battle chimeras, and have been aiding the Meracydian resistance behind the backs of the ruling class. Who's side of the conflict are they on? Their own.

Their tags are #Alexandrite and #the Allagan tempest

Anatu (she/her)

Anatu is a white mage during the final days of the War of the Magi. She was a field researcher employed by the Amdapori military to monitor the fluctuations of aether within the Black Shroud to ensure that their operations were not causing too much lasting damage to the forest. However, her recordings were being further and further dismissed and she suspected foul play on both the part of her superior and the local cult leader. She journeyed out into the Shroud alone to find undeniable proof that the Black Shroud was being damaged by the excess use of light aether to make their soldiers of light. It's there that she met with three other various refugees of the War.

Her tags are #Anatu and #magiposting

Vaisha Soveniss (they/he)

Vaisha Soveniss is an herbalist and occultist living in the Southern Shroud. They're one of the more radical members of the Redbelly Wasps and are loudly prejudiced against Gridanians, doubly so as an unrecognised Hearer. Their aetheric balance is slightly tipped towards fire, making them a natural thaumaturge, which sets them at odds against the conjurers and elementals of the Black Shroud. They eventually leave the Shroud entirely to learn at the Thaumturge's Guild in Ul'dah.

In their shared canon version, this is where they remain, and are the one to help those who break away from the main plot in Heavensward to sneak into the city to aid Raubhan.

Their tags are #Vaisha Soveniss and they can occasionally be found in #into the blorboverse.

Olem (he/him)

The head of the Amdapori military, and the direct superior to Anatu, Olem is desperate to end the War of the Magi with Amdapor as, if not the victor, then at least a survivor. He's been locked in a cold power struggle between the Amdapori military and the local cult leader, Alorus, for several years.

As a final act of desperation, he tried to literally fight fire with fire by secretly purchasing a scroll of summoning from a Mhachi mage, only to bite off far more than he could chew. Realising too late that the voidsent he summoned was not a lower rung but Diabolos himself, Olem used the last shred of his own life force to bind the devil deep within the citadel. This act stained his soul, and unfortunately passed on the repercussions to Vaisha in the next life.

He can also occasionally be found in the magiposting tag.