#just dont come into my ask box telling me my interpretation is wrong

[ferahntics]

I shant stop

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

sorry for hopping into ur ask box i jst dont wanna clog peoples dashs lmao. anyways AUAUAAA thats. :/ albw and alttp are different incarnations in the same hyrule what....... a big reason i havent gotten into LU is because it feels like it reduces the links to extremely specific personality types (like. sksw is the sweet one and time is the stern one and wind is childish and so on and so forth) and while thats not, like, terrible, it does permeate SO MUCH fanon content that it gets a little :[ sometimes. sky is the one that bothers me the most bc if u play past the beginning and watch his dialogue he actually gets more and more like, short and snappy and weary which makes sense bc it is a 38 hour game and his childhood friend tells him he wont see her until he fulfills a destiny he did not pursue so ofc hes DRAGGING himself thru it but !! no one thinks of that they just kinda use the LU char and thats that. idk i certainly hold no ill will to the creator or fans or anythin like that i jst wish one persons interpretation(s) didnt overshadow everyone elses ................. also i know bonus links but what were thos other ones u named !!!!!!?!

YEAH they are very much different links but I guess jojo (the creator) didn't want to deal with another character? None of the other links are combo'ed as far as I'm aware (except for maybe four? I'm not sure if he's supposed to just be mc/fs or if he's supposed to be fsa too)

Yeah they really are reduced down to very little :/ especially in fanon sometimes. notable example include: legend as the snarky/mean/broody/angsty one, sky as a sleepy soft boy, time as the responsible/parental one, etc etc. I have many many problems with this but ESPECIALLY with sky because I am incapable of being normal about anything in that game like. He's not? He's really not? 10 minutes into the game you get "nice hair" and um. I don't know how to break this to you but um. HE SAYS THINGS LIKE THIS A LOT. There's just... everything with Scrapper ("not that guy") and also.

Yeah. I think it's safe to say that he's very willing to fuck with people. (And the chandelier breaking and just-- yeah)

(I could refute the sleepy part too but then I would probably write a whole rant about how he's really not and also how it's unfair to him because he would be the "lazy" one and uhhh I can't say anything else bc I'll just work myself up)

Honestly just as an au in general its not THAT great. I would put it solidly in the "it's okay" category so it's really NOT deserving of how it's taken over EVERYTHING (fun fact-- have you ever tried to look up loz fics on ao3? Well if you haven't, ITS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO FILTER IT ALL OUT. botw and lu fics SOLIDLY dominate a good portion of all the fics and-- man I just wanted to read some link's awakening stuff). Everywhere I go, I see lu names on posts that are not lu (there's using it once as a distinguisher but there comes a point when it's obvious that's not why you're doing it), and if you look up fics with more than one link in them you WILL get lu names and characterization even when explicitly stated to not be lu. Also, and correct me if I'm wrong, but. The hero titles? I'm pretty sure those don't exist (beyond hero of time, which seems to be a general thing), except MAYBE in the context of the names of the clothes you can get in botw with amiibo so like. Bad excuse, buddy

Anyway sorry for ranting I. Did not mean to do that. The other aus I mentioned are @/linked-maze and @/ageless-soul-au. The first is a comic, the other is a fic (which does bear some resemblances with lu at first glance but uh-- yeah it's not (if the alttp and albw combo bugs you a lot they do the same thing). Certainly not my favorite but its not bad)

[husbandograveyard]

Hazel hi! I see you added twst to your fandoms and your box is open soooo 👀 can I ask for some headcanons for Malleus. Azul and Vil where they get confessed to? Maybe while they were trying to figure out how to/when to/if they should confess? Idk I'm just here for fluff and laughs. Thanks if you do this! 💜 - Lisa

First twst Request! Keep em coming UwU, in the meantime I’ll just share my brainrot with y’all without anyone asking for it. These are becoming more and more broken up scenario’s than actual HC, and they are a little different from your request, you’ll see. Hope you dont mind! Sowwy! I Even left the bullet points away cause they just didn’t seem right. 

Confessing to Malleus, Azul, Vil 

2nd person, GN reader, no warnings, just fluff. Only warning is that these are LONG. Vil and Azul under the cut. 

Malleus Draconia

Malleus had been spending a lot of time with you lately, even seeking you out at moments he felt like it had been too long since he last saw you. He wasn’t too sure of his feelings until Lilia pointed them out to them. It was a little strange, and he wasn’t too sure how to go about it. He’d never felt like this before. Sure, he wanted to be closer to other people, but like this? All new. 

You had been noticing him spending more time with you too. It was a welcome change of pace, as you had developed feelings for him pretty early on in your friendship. But with how socially awkward and out of touch Malleus sometimes could be, you didn’t want to ruin what you had by potentially pushing him away with too intense a feeling on your side.

But, lately, he had been seeking you out more often than the other way around. Even going to more public events at the school - you being the one to make sure an invitation got extended to him in the first place. 

It made your heart swell. All the little things that had changed ever since you met him for the first time. How he initially kept both physical and mental distance, but now allowed you close in both ways, sharing thoughts and conversations, but also sharing small touches. Nothing that could be interpreted as too romantic per se, but definitely different from the way he treated most other people.

He was noticing it too, on your side. The little smiles when you spent time with him, the way you closed your eyes when you listened to him telling about his hometown. The way you initially pulled away from accidental touches, as if a jolt of electricity just coursed through your body, but now you were actually leaning into him whenever it happened. And he found himself like it more and more whenever that happened.  

He had been picking up on signals for a while now, but it was only when Lidia helped him by actually putting it into words, that he realized just how long he might have been ignoring your true feelings. And he was now worrying that he might have sent you the wrong signals by never really reacting to your advances. If that’s what they truly were, really, even now he wasn’t 100% sure. 

And now he was seeking you out to finally put his feelings into words, preferably right after class, so no chores or duties or homework could be occupying you just yet. 

Little did he know that you were walking around campus as well, trying to find him to finally make it clear to him how you really felt. Subtelty and fear thrown out of the window. You weren’t sure just how much longer you could take it, and you were pretty sure that even if he were to reject you, he’d still have you around if you’d want that. You really considered yourself at least good friends by now. 

Malleus couldn’t find you in your dormroom, where he was expecting to find you. He started walking around campus, ears and eyes focused on trying to spot your figure. He was repeating the words he wanted to say over and over, a little louder than a whisper. Since most people kept their distance anyway, there was no danger of anyone that didn’t matter overhearing, unless- 

“Why are you repeating that you love me in that strange whisper-tone?”

Busted. Malleus turned around, seeing you with an amused smirk on your face. The smirk however was in sharp contrast with how your hands seemed to be shaking. Nerves. 

“Well, y/n, I was practising to say that to you. But I guess since you overheard, I no longer actually need to say it?” 

You laughed. “Well, I was actually about to say the same to you. So why don’t we find someplace now, and repeat ourselves? Just to get the message across?”

Vil Schoenheit

Rook found himself in an annoying position. Sure, he was fine helping out his housewarden confess to the person he’d had his eyes on for quite some time. If anything, it could almost be considered one of his duties as a vice-housewarden.

What he was not prepared for, however, was you coming up to him to help him with the exact same thing. Two lonely hearts, both yearning to confess and asking for his help and advice? With the way things were looking right now, neither of you needed any assistance, just a little push in the right direction, and what more could he do than play a perfect undercover role. No one else but him would be able to play cupid that well, with his perfect aim to shoot arrows right through both your hearts. 

Helping Vil was easy, he was mostly requiring assistance in finding the right words. Rook and his elaborate knowledge of literature and poetry could help him pick the perfect metaphors to help Vil explain why the two of you would be a perfect match. 

Helping you proved to be a little harder. You see, you wanted to confess as fast as possible now that you had made up your mind. But Rook knew that Vil was trying to perfectly plan this all out, and he didn’t want to ruin that, thus he had to stall you a little, giving you all kinds of reasons why you shouldn’t be alone with the man of your dreams right now. 

“He’s having a beauty sleep.” “He’s doing his hair.” “He has to prepare for an audition.” “He’s getting ready for a shoot.” 

You were getting sick of it. Ever since you told Rook you wanted help confessing to Vil, he had been sabotaging you it seemed, and you were almost regretting asking him for help at all. So far, none of the advice had even been useful, besides maybe the encouragement he seemed to give you initially. He gave you hope that you wouln’t be rejected, and honestly that was all you needed to get to it, before insecurities got the better of you and you started doubting again. 

You were making your way to the biggest room in the Pomifiore dorm, having spotted Rook going in with Vil, probably to assist with one thing or the other. But he wasn’t there to stop you from going in, and that’s all that mattered. The plan was simple enough. Knock, go in, demand to have Vil alone for a little while and then confess, hopefully be out within ten minutes with a date. 

You were determined not to let anyone stop you. Which is why both the blond-haired men were shocked when the door swung open rather violently, not even giving either of them time to say something after the brief knocking. 

“Vil, I need to talk to you. Alone” 

“Sure, y/n.” Vil was quick to regain composure, unlike Rook who was looking as if you’d just ruined a surprise. “Leave us alone for a while, will you?” 

Vil looked at Rook, expectantly, telling him to close the door behind him. As he did so, Vil focused all his attention on you. 

“It’s been a while since we’ve talked, y/n” 

“Exactly, Rook has been keeping you away from me ever since-” You closed your mouth just in time, cutting yourself off. This was not the words you wanted to use. But it was too late, curiosity was already piqued. 

“Ever since what, y/n?” Vil seemed interested. He himself had been thinking Rook was keeping you away so he could prepare an appropriate confession in peace, but if there was something going on on your side too, that could explain why he hadn’t seen you in almost two weeks, a presence sorely missed. 

You sighed. Everything was ruined anyway, so you might as well confess everything right there. 

“Ever since I’ve wanted to confess my feelings for you.” 

Long eyelashes fluttered, and a smile appeared on his lips. 

“Well that explains then, y/n”, Vil motioned you to sit next to him, so you’d be closer. A good sign that made you smile as well, “because he’s been doing the same to me, ever since I asked for help to confess my feelings for you.” 

“Looks like both our plans were ruined then.” You smiled up at him. 

“Maybe for the better. What’s all that preparation good for when you can move on straight to the good part? Y/n, when would you have time to go out with me?”

Azul Ashengrotto

There is mutual care, there is mutual love. There are so many little hints that Azul cares for you more than just a friend (and big ones too, like the tweels’ endless teasing that leaves him a strange mix of flustered and frustrated whenever those two are around when you’re with him). 

And yet, nothing is really moving, and you figure out it is probably because he needs some more confirmation. 

And what more confirmation can you give him than actually confessing your feelings yourself? It’s a little nerve-wracking, sure, but the rewards outweigh the risk by a lot, especially since you are about 99% sure that Azul likes you back. 

There are so many ways to go about this, and you weren’t really sure how to go about it. In between the twins’ antics and the trouble Azul had with seeing himself as he really was, insecurity dragging him down even when he put up the bravest of faces, you wanted to make sure he didn’t see it as a joke. It had to be genuine, and private. Just the two of you. 

The best way to get Azul alone was to ask for a wish. But the moment you do so, you can already see the surprise, confusion, and reluctance in his eyes. Deals usually don’t turn out in the favor of those he’s making them with, and while he couldn’t possibly try to scam you, the mere fact that you’re still asking for it is making him feel uneasy in some type of way. 

The expression returns to normal as he regains composure, escorting you to his office, your heart beating wildly in anticipation. 

“What can I help you with?” the statement is very neutral, very businesslike, and your heart drops a little when you realize he probably has no idea what you’re here to do, disappointed that you’re resorting to this sort of contact with him, very well knowing what happens to people making deals. 

Nevertheless, you push on, knowing that this may only add to the surprise of what you’re really about to say. 

“Well,” you started off with a smile, stepping a little closer to him, seeing his gaze already soften behind his glasses, “what I’m asking for is a bit of a package deal, really.” 

He didn’t speak, letting you continue. 

“I wish to be closer to you.” You saw his brows furrow, confusion appearing on his face as it started to dawn on him -this was no regular deal.

“At the very least have a date. Maybe be more than friends?” You laughed a little at his shocked expression. “Of course, whatever terms and conditions you’d like to apply.” 

It was silent for a little while, so you decided to steal his usual words and use them against him. 

“Have we got a deal?” 

He stepped close, his cheeks a deep red color by now, disbelief apparent on his eyes, and carefully grabbed your hands. 

“Are you- is this a-?” You’d never seen him stumble on his words like that before, and laughed a little, kissing his cheek, effectively shutting him up. 

“No, it’s not a joke. And I am taking it as a yes.” 

[writingwithcolor]

Elderly Black man with autism and anxiety

@xcherry-popx asked: 

I have a Black man in my story. Some main features of him include 1) being an older (60+?) man and 2) being rather nervous (and likely having anxiety). I've also considered him having autism, but I wanted to handle the anxious aspect first since it will be more prominent.

when creating him, I started out with the idea of an anxious older man and then decided on race. I'm still working on how his anxiety tends to manifest, but my current thoughts include some anger (not violence) and self-soothing in ways like running his hands through his hair. [autism + anxiety is ownvoices]

my main concerns are that:

     A) having his anxiety manifest in anger could be seen as an Angry Black Man, even if he doesn’t hurt anyone (this is in a story where there are some incidents where someone is attacked by someone else, so its not as if his anger is being toned down for the audience)

    B) his anxiety-autism could be seen as infantilizing him (its not immediately obvious, and he is seen as a father figure by many of the other characters. he will probably mostly grow stronger on his own rather than relying on the rest of the cast [if he does use their help, its more indirect, such as someone’s courage inspiring him or another nervous character working through their problems together])

I haven't heard a whole lot about 'weak’ (used very loosely here) Black man stereotypes, but i wanted to double-check since i know i dont have a whole lot of experience

Do you think he may come across as an 'infantilized Black man’ stereotype, or to a lesser extent, an 'Angry Black Man’ stereotype?  

[ask trimmed due to length]

The possibility that he’s undiagnosed 

Depending on the context of the story, it wouldn’t surprise me if his autism and anxiety went undiagnosed (mental health can be a taboo among some Black communities). So one of the questions is : does he know or not ? 

Dealing with emotions / how he handles things

Also it’s hard to deal with really strong feelings, sometimes irrational when you don’t know why you react like that. Being undiagnosed could explain his anger. But judging by his age, he could have learned to live with it ? We don’t know his personality and his life so it’s hard to tell.

Also, I don’t see anything wrong with not being strong or just having weaknesses. It’s human. You just have to take your character’s past into consideration when writing about it, but the rule for the story is that he must evolve. It doesn't mean he should finish entirely strong, without any weaknesses. It’s all about change and being a better person (or not, it depends on your themes and the message you want to convey). 

He hates being helped ? He learns to accept it and ask for help when needed. This is evolving. He could also find a relieving practice to sooth his anger, or that helps him control his emotions. This is evolving too. Or it could get worse, he could totally close up to the others because of the frustration of not being understood, of feeling weak for needing help. That’s life. He’s old and sometimes, people just stop trying. But again, I don’t know what your story is about so I can’t tell you if you should go towards a positive or negative character’s arc. Just remember : it’s all about his evolution.

Anyway, there’s only one thing that will probably prevent you from falling into stereotypes : make him as human as you can, with all his qualities and flaws.

- Mod Lydie

First of all, I second everything Lydie said, especially that first paragraph.

Undiagnosed (potentially) & coping

Being able to write part of this character from experience will be helpful, but you noticed correctly, being a Black man on top of that does have an impact. Like Lydie mentioned, he could easily have gone undiagnosed. There is a taboo in some Black communities, but keep in mind misdiagnoses and lack of professional support can happen as well. Though there are great psychologists out there, there are also those who will be influenced by racial prejudices, who simply won’t take people seriously, and Autism is still poorly understood outside of stereotypes a lot as well.

Going undiagnosed or even just a late diagnosis really impacts a lot of one’s experiences growing up and how you see yourself. It could be another deeply influential part of his identity that mixes things up again so do keep in mind if this is the case for him. Especially when he’s reached 60+, comorbid is very common aside from the anxiety (depression and C-PTSD come to mind). Not that you need to put those in there, especially because it really depends on his background and direct support group, but something to keep in mind as you further flesh your character out.

At such an advanced age one will probably have learned to mask a lot (though a turn to masking less can be seen in older people, especially men, as well). They might have grown used to being different, including feeling misunderstood, frustrated, could become withdrawn or a people pleaser as a coping mechanism, but all of this is all highly dependent on their character as well as their experiences. 

Dealing with his anger & stereotypes 

Thinking outside of the box of how anger can manifest could help as well. Sometimes people express their anger in less obvious ways, or the anger could be hidden under a secondary emotion. His anxiety and Autism will probably be affected by each other as well. Like sensory overload coming hand in hand with anxiety attacks of one leading to the other.

Your concern for having him turn into or interpreted as an angry Black man stereotype is something to look out for. Make sure you fully develop his character, show him to be multifaceted, and give him agency.

I personally don’t see how he’d be seen as infantilized as you described him in your concern B paragraph. It sounds to me like he’s doing to opposite, trying to be hyper self-reliant, but yeah, depending on how you let his anxiety and autism manifest, it could be an issue. It’s hard to really say a lot more than this without more specifics.

Characterization 

To me, this character comes across as one who could have a lot of depth and complexity to him. He would be flawed, he would be interesting, could easily be made relatable as well. But as you guessed, it will take work, care and research to pull him off without falling into potential pitfalls. Having weaknesses and having your character grow is a good thing (and mentioning for anyone who needs to hear it: Autism and Anxiety are in itself not character flaws or weaknesses, but they can lead to someone manifesting them). This is not only due to the stereotypes, but also because there’s not that much rep out there and you will be battling against ingrained biases and stigma as well. 

That said, this is the type of character I always look forward to reading. 

- Alice

[muwur]

could i request an -oikawa-kuroo-suga- headcanons for a partner with autism/adhd? (autism and adhd in girls can be like, real hard to write if you dont have it or know someone who does so its 100% okay to say no wididnejfufhejrr) especially with like, being embarrassed about stimming in front of them or dealing with rejection sensitive dysphoria as a symptom 😗👉👈 thank yooooooooooou i owe u my liyef

haikyuu + s/o with autism/adhd headcanons

✧ hc’s ✧ for oikawa, kuroo, suga & tendou

❧ gn reader

✎ 1.3k words

a/n: i got u b! this is wut im here for, to help u feel a lil represented �� also ik u a special fren of mine so hehe here u go (happy birthday soon btw c; ily i hope you enjoy pls feel free to lmk if there’s smth youd like me to change ♡)! aLsO pLEASePLEAseplEASe anyone let me know if there is something I wrote in this that doesn’t sit well with you. as someone who does not have autism/adhd or has had much experience around people who do, i cannot portray it accurately. i do not intend to misrepresent anyone’s experiences. i love and care for you all; the last thing i want to do is hurt or offend anyone. thankfully anon + the internet were great sources for me to try to understand things better. tho that is not to say i can fully comprehend these conditions (cuz i never can unless i experience it myself)

n e ways, u r all loveli n i hope ur having an amazing day <3

just wanna preface that these bois would love anyone for who they are, and would do their best to support you in whatever ways possible <3

oikawa

✧ oikawa had been replying consistently to your messages before suddenly disappearing with no explanation,,,

✧ at first it seemed like nothing, but after several hours and follow up texts from yourself, you couldn’t help but think that maybe he just didn’t want to reply to you

✧ maybe he didn’t even like you anymore

✧ fear that every moment you shared together meant nothing settled in the pit of your stomach

✧ a while later you received a phone call from a very apologetic oikawa, who was explaining that he dropped his phone in the bowl of ramen he was eating and had to go to the store and wait for hours before finally getting a new one and--

✧ “a-are you crying? hey, what’s wrong? i’m sorry i was gone for so long. i’m here now.”

✧ will definitely come over immediately to give you reassuring cuddles

✧ “you mean the world to me. i never want to hurt you, and i never want to leave you, either.”

✧ makes sure to communicate very clearly with you to reassure you what he really means

✧ always reminding you how much he cares about you to reinforce in your head that he’s always going to be there for you

✧ does self-care days with you to destress because life is tough (*cue selfies with face masks and laying in bed for hours with each other’s comforting presence*)

✧ very quick to defend and protect you from people who hurt you. will ask, “excuse me, can i help you?” with a piercing glare that’ll get anyone to back down

✧ gives you constant reassurance about your stimming

✧ helps you interpret social cues and situations, gives you tips on how to handle your interactions with others and in under circumstances (as well as how to remain calm in your own mind)

✧ practices positive self-talk with you because he wants to help you see how great you are

✧ anyone who doesn’t see it is at a loss and is irrelevant, they don’t exist in oikawa’s book 💅

kuroo

✧ always educating himself so he knows how to be helpful

✧ unintentionally embarrassed you once by asking what you were doing when he caught you stimming once (which was when he found out about it)

✧ he was genuinely curious and meant no harm, and he apologized for bringing it up how he did

✧ however, he was glad he asked you so that he could be informed and reassure you that stimming is okay. he understands the importance of it and he’d prefer you have something to help you self-soothe. no judgment here, this is a safe space

✧ takes mental notes on all your favorite stims (verbal, visual, tactile, oral, proprioception, etc)

✧ even discovers new stims for you to try and buys you things to help with them (“here, this is a fidget spinner, y/n” or “you know they make CHEWABLE JEWLERY? they call it CHEWELRY. that’s genius. *typing on phone* what colors do you like, babe?” )

✧ encourages you to talk about your feelings and find additional coping strategies (“let’s try this neat breathing technique i learned about today!”)

✧ saves you from overwhelming situations (ie. pulling you out of a crowd, shutting down really noisy things, giving you space to clear your head and breathe)

✧ ruffles your hair as a sign of affection and calls you cute nicknames

✧ helps you study, make plans, and stay organized. tries to keep things interesting and interactive so you don’t lose interest/find it boring

✧ when you’re having an especially hard time focusing, he’ll pull you aside for a relaxing break like talking a small walk, watching an episode of y’alls favorite show, sharing a snack, playing a game, looking at memes or tik tok, chatting, etc

✧ makes sure to validate your feelings first and acknowledge your concerns before giving you his thoughts

✧ helps you view situations from a different perspective so you don’t assume rejection from others. when there is some form of rejection, he’s there to help you cope with the emotions 

✧ gives you a lot of hugs when you’re feeling dejected and lonely, reminding you he’ll never leave your side 

sugawara

✧ he’s quite perceptive, so when he noticed your unease, he asked you about it

✧ embarrassed but not wanting to lie, especially to suga, you admitted to being afraid of stimming around him and that you had been trying to hold back from it (even if it was hard)

✧ his eyes immediately soften as he tells you that there’s no reason to be embarrassed about it

✧ he just wants you to be yourself and feel comfortable

✧ learns about all of your stims. totally supports and normalizes them (however, if they’re ever self-injurous, he’ll do research and consult expert help to redirect the behavior)

✧ will absolutely take good care of you, he’s not sugamama for no reason

✧ a great listener! always hearing you out when you talk about your passions and interests

✧ wants you to express yourself however you can because he understands communication may not always be easy (reminder that communication and expression aren’t always verbal!)

✧ praises you and hypes you up all the time, going on about how there’s so much about you he loves

✧ has the most soothing voice ever. will whisper you sweet, reassuring words to calm and ease your mind

✧ will even just hum for you. lit rally anything. the suga juke box varies from lullabies to funky fresh songs

✧ very patient and will support you when you feel upset, frustrated, and/or have outbursts

✧ encourages you to talk about your feelings, but never pressures you. shares his own thoughts and feelings to help you open up, asks you thoughtful questions

✧ may be ultimate soft boi but gives anyone the look™ if they even just stare, and goes feral if someone’s ever rude to you in any way, calls them tf out and is #satisfied when he gets them to apologize

✧ also helps you study and be organized! good at creating schedules and encouraging you to stick with them

✧ constantly making sure you eat sufficient meals 😋 and get enough rest 😴 will nag you until you do

tendou

✧ MORE THAN HAPPY TO PROVIDE ALL THE STIMULATION YOU NEED, says it’s an opportunity to give each other mutual attention and bond

✧ but will also provide you an outlet for just relaxing and unwinding

✧ will talk to you for hours and hours about your favorite shows/movies/books

✧ BINGES THEM WITH YOU

✧ always treating you to your favorite snacks/flavors and discovering new things for you to try that will match your taste/texture preferences (only the best for u 😌)

✧ curious about how stims make you feel and asks you to describe those sensations to him  

✧ thinks it’s super cool when you can finish his sentences for him,,, cuz it’s like y’all on the same wavelength (you gellll)

✧ if anyone made you feel bad,,, o boy

✧ tendou would intimidate them to the point he would probably appear in their nightmares ffegjegk this is why you don’t fuck with this man or those who cares about 

✧ king of spontaneity and asks if you’re down to do the most random things

✧ “let’s buy a trampoline”

✧ *2 am* “you down for some fries and dip? and by dip i mean m i l k s h a k e s”

✧ of course he’ll never suggest things he knows you would be uncomfortable with. never puts you in a stressful situation and always makes sure you’re enjoying yourself

✧ invites you everywhere and makes sure you feel included. always by your side!

✧ squeezes your hand whenever he can tell you’re feeling anxious

✧ if you feel anxious about trying new things, he’s there to encourage you! recounts all the positive aspects 

✧ but if you’re really excited to try something, you bet he’ll match your excitement

✧ a very good listener. empathizes a lot with being misunderstood or seen as “different,” and is therefore a major source of comfort

✧ constantly showing you how to be yourself and that you shouldn’t feel ashamed about it, cuz that’s who he fell in love with

[killjoynest]

hi! i dont mean to start any drama, but i think you're slightly overthinking danger days comic. i may be completely wrong, and i come here with the best intentions, but i dont think calling it racist is 100 what it is? yes, it is slightly racist, but what it is in its majority is simply bad poc representation through lacking positive characters. also, usually people who read the comics know the mvs and know jet star was not only mentioned!!

wow ok this is a lot BUT to go through every bit you just said at me

1) i did not, at any point, call the comics racist. this was a post abt racism in general in the danger days fandom including the parts that appear in canon

2) "bad rep" in the form of the sexualisation of the only villain who is an asian women? thats racist. having the sole darkskinned character die? thats also racist! it may be unintentional but its still bad! i shouldnt have to explain this you can do your own research

3) people do call jet stars hair an afro, ive made posts before about it and have talked about it with other fans of color

4) people can make nonwhite ocs to make up for the lack of rep, but this was specifically about the general lack of content of colour and I'm not the only person to speak on this. i was speaking on how interpretations of the fab four as poc do prompt some negative responses, as most nonwhite content does in a fandom space. Besides, a large part of calis population is nonwhite, so having such a low number of characters of colour doesnt make sense?

5) i didnt say any of this meant "kill all poc", and its incredibly rude of you to imply i did. unintentional racism is still racism, dont come in to my ask box and tell me, someone who often suffers from racism as a poc, what i can and can not call racism

[illfoandillfie]

Hi again, I’m the one that requested about the romantic soulmate and when will it come and yes, please can you tell me more about them? I asked if I’d ever meet them because sometimes it feels like it won’t happen so I’m more like I could wait forever as long as they get here you know? But if you could tell me more, I’d be grateful. Also yes, I know that you can’t give me a specific time but I wonder more like if it’s in the near future or later on in life. Again, thank you💕

This was fun! Hopefully some of this will make sense, even if it’s not straight away lmao if you have any more questions or theres anything else you’re curious about let me know and i’ll see if any of my decks can give us some clues!

So to start I drew 4 attribute cards to try and get a sense of this person’s personality. Each archetype has light and shadow attributes, though it doesn’t necessarily mean all of them will be exhibited. More that they are negative aspects that this person has the potential to fall into (eg: just because the shadow attribute of trickster talks about manipulating others, it doesn’t mean this person is going to be overtly manipulative of you. but they might be good at playing the system to benefit themselves or something like that)

We got:

Trickster - Light attribute: Transcending convention, stuffiness and predictable behaviour / Shadow atrribute: Manipulating others through duplicity

Mentor - Light attribute: Passing on wisdom and refining a student’s character / Shadow attribute - Inability to allow the student to move on to the role of Master. Imparting false instruction

Exorcist - Light attribute: Freeing yourself and others of destructive impulses / Shadow attribute - Fear of facing your own demons 

Visionary - Light attributes - Capacity to envision what is not yet conceivable to others. Willingness to proclaim a vision without regard for personal gain. / Shadow attributes - Selling insights to the highest bidder. Compromising your vision to make it more acceptable.

So from these it seems this person will be a little outside the box, maybe they have a particular style of dress which is unusual or a special interest/hobby that is a bit odd. With both mentor and exorcist they may have a background in teaching or social work - even if they are no longer on that path. It might not even be an official degree they have, they might just be particularly aware of the system, maybe they know someone who benefits from AA meetings something like that. It could be as simple as them tutoring school/uni/college students. With the visionary archetype it seems they’d be a bit of a dreamer, probably a creative thinker.

Next thing i did was draw some letters and charms to try and get some more info on what they’re like.

For the letters we got D, E, I, F, R, L, I, O, P - there may be initials in here. with the two Is it might mean this person has double letters in their name. There might also be other words in here to describe them. 

I know I’m seeing DILF lmao but also Pride (so maybe they’re lgbt or just proud of who they are/what they have accomplished), Pie (maybe the like to bake?), Leo and fire (so maybe they’re a leo or a fire sign or have a fire dominated natal chart)

have a look what words jump out at you as well and see how you might be able to connect them (i can’t see any names in there but im notoriously bad at anagram things so maybe you can)

As for the charms:

The world on the dice and the eiffel tower both suggest overseas travel, so this person might be well traveled or they might have a specific connection to France. 

The shell could represent a connection to the sea or the beach. In dream interpretations shells have a few meanings. They can represent having a hard exterior but being soft on the outside so this person might come across as cold or closed off until you get to know them better. Shells can also be a symbol of wanting protection so it might be that this person has a defensive streak or they are very protective of those they love. Shells are also connected with the goddess Venus and so are seen as signs of sexual pleasure. 

words you got here are freedom, sassy and reach(ing) - freedom i think definitely makes sense with the trickster archetype above and maybe the visionary one as well. 

You also got the Make Poverty History badge so this person may donate money or time to a charity (or multiple charities). The badge also says Stand Up And Be Counted so it might represent this person being outspoken, especially about things that are important to them. 

The hand charm reminds me of the Hamsa symbol, even though theres no eye on the palm. the Hamsa is a symbol of protection or warding off evil. Aside from that, open palmed hands can be a symbol of open communication, so that is definitely a good sign. In dreams palms can also indicate a chance meeting with a stranger who may become a romantic partner so that just ties into what i said in the previous reading about you not having met them yet. 

And finally we have 2 different scissor charms. To me this represents sharp - sharp wit, sharp mind, sharply dressed. But scissors can also be a sign of decisiveness, or of a fear of being cut off for something. This person is likely the sort who knows what they want and will go after it. Once they make a decision they stick with it. And once they meet you, they’re not going to want to leave you. 

To try and get some more info on how you’ll meet I drew some tarot cards. 

7 of pentacles, 10 of pentacles, king of pentacles, 7 of wands, the tower, ace of pentacles.

Look at all those motherfucking pentacles. Just like I said in the previous reading, this definitely has something to do with work. With the king of pents there in the middle I’m inclined to say this person may work at the same place as you, maybe in a managerial role or at least someone higher up the chain than you. Or maybe they just have more experience in the role than you do. 

The last few cards are the most interesting. The 7 of wands is a card of conflict or struggles though it doesn’t necessarily have to be negative. It can represent standing your ground or defending yourself or others. The tower is a sign of dramatic and unexpected change, often negative. I pulled a clarifying card for it as well, to see if we could get some info on what this tower moment is and i got the ace of pentacles. The ace of pents is about new opportunities, especially related to money or work.

To me this says something is going to happen that will cause a dramatic change to your work. Now, I can see this going either two way. At it’s most negative this is a conflict, maybe with someone you work with, maybe just the work environment itself. Maybe it’s one of those things where every day becomes a struggle and you start to hate your job and you dont want to be there anymore. This leads to the tower moment of you quitting and finding a new job.

OR, at it’s most positive - the conflict moment still happens, but because of how well you handle the situation you’re offered a promotion or a transfer or something like that. It’s still a new opportunity, it still has the stress and sudden change that the tower indicates, but it’s not quite as negative.

Whichever way it goes, it leads to you meeting or coming into closer contact with this person, the king of pentacles, your soulmate. 

(As a side note, in the previous reading we drew the queen of pentacles and now we’ve drawn the king so if you wanted proof that they’re The One, that’s it. Also like, the story these cards tell matches so well with the last reading, the work, the new opportunity im like a little stunned by it)

In an effort to lean more about them and more about when you’ll meet I pulled some romance angels. You got:

Forgiving and Learning - as you release and heal the past, you experience more love in your present moments

Very Soon - clearly decide what you want so that it comes to you now

Keep an Open Mind - your soul mate may differ from your usual type and expectations

Trust - This situation is calling for you to have faith

So, in the context of when will you meet, trust is obviously asking you to have faith that the universe will bring this person towards you even if it seems to be taking forever. And also trust that this person is right for you, especially if they’re different from what you might expect as the keep an open mind card suggests. Obviously the most interesting is Very Soon which suggests that you’ll meet them sooner rather than later. I pulled a number tile as i was focusing on that card to try and get an indication of timing and you got a 3. Now, that could be 3 day, 3 weeks, 3 months, 3 years. It might also be a number relevant to the time when you meet them (maybe 3 weeks AFTER something else or maybe 3pm or even you’ll just see the number 3 around a lot as a warning that they’re coming)

And finally. I have a deck of channeled messages. These are things that your person might be thinking or might be wanting to say to you. Take them with as many grains of salt as you like but I figured it could be fun. The white cards are messages from the person, light blue are messages from the deck/universe.

The one blue card we got is They are waiting for you and really I think that sets the tone of all of these cards.

I just dream and wish for everything, I just want you all the time, I lie awake thinking about our future. This person is ready to meet you, they are sick of dating around, sick of the wrong people, they want something real and long lasting. 

Please give me time I’ve never felt this way before. You’ll need to wait a little longer before you meet them but not much longer. It’s next to I think we should slow down in reverse, they want this to happen as soon as possible, they are as sick of waiting as you are. 

Definitely is designed to look like The Tower card which is very interesting but with this one there is no question of it having a positive outcome, even if it feels hard in the moment it will be worth it.

And finally, I’m too afraid to talk in reverse. It’s likely this person will approach you, there’s no fear there, no worry about what you’ll say. And once they start talking to you they’re going to keep talking to you. 

[gumceline]

i dont care if this gets posted, but it’s very hurtful to see a blog dedicated to a Hetero version of a lesbian couple. I assume you yourself aren’t a lesbian and don’t understand how much this is upsetting to see. I just stumbled upon your blog at random. I know a random user isnt going to change your mind and you’ll probably delete this immediately, but please try to understand. Lesbian erasure is very real. This contributes to it. Bonny and marcy are in love. Appreciate it for what it is.

I want to explain this calmly and carefully because I don’t want my words misinterpreted here, because i’m unfortunately incredibly used to people such as yourself getting incredibly angry and insulting towards me without actually being allowed an opinion myself on the matter.

People take one look at my blog and think “Oh, i must be homophobic, i must not accept marcy and bonnie together, i must not accept lesbians”. and it’s frustrating for me because none of that is true but it’s always anyone’s first assumption to think the worst of me instead of actually hearing me out or anything I have to say.

for one, i do perfectly accept them, i just don’t personally ship them myself, i’m not mad they’re together and i’m not angry people ship them, they’re simply not a couple i’m personally all that into. I ship a lot of stuff in AT (Gay and straight alike), but I was never that invested in them, and unfortunately that part of the fandom turned me off entirely from them because i was HEAVILY attacked from that side of the fanbase for having other ships with those characters and having a few issues with the relationship at the time  (The show was still airing).

I had friends ditch me, i had harrassers, i got death threats, the ship became entirely tainted for me and harder to enjoy because it became associated with a lot of negativity for me.

It is not a simple matter of me not accepting them, or not liking gay ships, because i’m fine with them and i got noting wrong with them being together, but i don’t think I have to ship or enjoy a ship that is unfortunately connected with so much negativity and was the reason i was highly attacked and tormented in the fandom for years.

 Plus that doesn’t mean no one else is allowed to ship anything else either, i don’t entirely think it’s fair to say people who don’t ship them are all homophobic unaccepting people, some people just prefer other ships, i mean, you don’t have to like them but I also don’t think people should be witch hunting people who have no ill intent.

Cause here’s the thing, i kinda personally treat the F&C characters as their own respective characters, I don’t really treat them as pure GB and nothing else, i’ve always kinda seen them as characters within their own right.

They got different hobbies, different ways they handle situations, and even entirely different backstories to some degree. I mean, these guys were made by the ice king, they’re his creations and come from his imagination, and i feel treating them as carbon copies is a little unfair when so much behind them is not an actual representation of the F&J characters.

They’re fanfiction characters, they’re like making ocs based on your friends, except they’re coming from the ice king who has a very warped mind at times when it comes to making his stories so they’re almost like representations of how he sees these characters more then anything

And unfortunately i just might be the only one who sees them this way, if they were pure GB characters who were exactly like the others you’d have a point, but how the show handles them and the changes they make make me feel like they should be judged as their own characters rather then just being GBS and nothing else to the fans.

And personally, I have my own sexuality headcanons for the characters too, personally i hc marcy as bi since she’s the one you’re mostly bringing up, i mean you can totally hc her as lesbian if you want, my hc is personally that I see her as bi.

Since her sexuality as a lesbian is a headcanon, your headcanon, you could see this as erasure, but because it’s not my headcanon, I don’t see it that way.

I could claim your statement is bi erasure, because there are people out there that do treat bi and pan people as lesser in the lgbt group if they’re in relationships with the opposite sex, as if that somehow makes them less bi/pan if they aren’t dating someone of the same sex.

But that would be stupid, because you’re allowed to have your headcanons and so am I, i’ve seen people headcanon her as bi and lesbian, so it’s pretty common to see both ends. 

And both ends are valid, but neither should be saying the other is ���Wrong” for the other’s interpretation.

i def think she’s into girls, but I see her being into multiple genders as well, but that’s just me, that’s my personal interpretation for her.

Trust me, i easily could’ve deleted this, but luckily you’ve been the nicest person whose been into my inbox on this matter in while and I think I’d be better off explaining where I stand rather then you and other people getting the wrong idea about me.

It’s so easy in this situation for people to assume the worst of you, but i genuinely have no ill intent, i just headcanon the sexualities of the characters differently, see the GB characters differently, and I’m not into marcy and pb because the fandom bullied any interest i may of had out of me.

marcy and pb are exs on this blog, like, canonically, they were dating, I didn’t remove their romantic relationship from this blog, it has been acknowledged and brought up several times.

I can tell you have good intent, and don’t get me wrong, if i was doing exactly what you were saying I was doing and had nothing but bad intent i’d get it entirely.

But the situation is not what it appears to be, and I wish more people asked instead of assumed.

 If you enjoy them a lot, then good for you, more power to ya, they just aren’t my thing and I wish i could be allowed to say that without being branded as something i’m not.

I just don’t think i’m ever gonna get passed how that fandom treated me, it’s just how it is.

And maybe you’ll say this is a big ole lie and i’m exactly what you’re claiming I am, but this is how i feel about these topics and I just would like to be allowed to have these opinions without being forced into a box.

[beesmygod]

netflix’s new horror movie “bird box” sucks ass and not in a funny, enjoyable way: a review

first im going to preface this review with this: im sick. i caught a cold on the way home from reno and spent the day recovering watching this garbage instead of doing anything that required a working brain. i knew i wasn’t going to get anything mind-blowing but “bird box” teeters heavily on “insultingly bad” instead of just “bad” and it kept me mad about having wasted two hours of my life for a solid 24 hours straight.

so if this review doesn’t make sense, its partly because im sick, and partly bc this movie doesn’t make sense. this review is also impossible to structure because i dont even know where to begin. maybe here: the directing is derivative, boring and bad. its like watching paint dry. the whole movie looks like your grandma’s house smells.

to re-iterate: this movie is 2 hours long. i’ll save you 2 hours by telling you that you never see the monster, ever. sandra bullock admitted to laughing out loud repeatedly on set at the monster when it was revealed to her which lead to it being cut from the movie. if we had seen the monster, maybe the movie would have been bumped up from a d- to a c+ just because the mental image of a long green baby with john malkovich’s voice is pretty funny.

the bird box, probably

for a movie about a monster, this movie has a serious monster problem. in that the monster is not a problem. the monster (which is never given a name in the movie) can’t seem to actually do anything to you if you don’t look at it. its only power seems to be making you kill yourself when you see it (unless you’re crazy which, thats a whole other kettle of fish. give me a minute). so if you don’t look at it you’re fine? there’s several points in the movie where the monster is physically close to them but doesn’t actually do anything except beg them to take off their blindfolds and look at them. its almost pathetic. as far as i can tell, the monster’s only powers are to make leaves fly upward for no reason (i.e. to indicate its in the area without the camera having to focus on anything specific) and yell at you. but, like, as long as you don’t take off your blindfold (and somehow, people do in this movie) then you’re probably fine.

now, if you’re “crazy” (I KNOW YOU’RE ALREADY ASKING QUESTIONS HOLD ON) then looking at the monster turns you into a stereotypical evangelist for an eldritch horror. you run around saying “crazy” things that read like enemy npc chatter in ps2 era survival horror game. for example:

then, you spend all your time trying to get people to look at it by holding their eyes open. “bird box” does not bother to explain what “crazy” means in this context. according the the story, roving gangs of tokyo-drifting escaped asylum patients rule the post-apocalyptic landscape of the pacific northwest. its impossible to tackle how many layers of like morally wrong it is to yet again shove the mentally ill into the role of antagonists  (im getting exhausted just thinking about piling up all the reasons this is so fucking bad) to the point of making them a fucking enemy class. its almost more succinct just to point out that “bird box” thinks mental illness is an on/off switch you toggle rather than a spectrum. i know this movie is a relic of the past (dec 2018) but i feel like this is such a basic fact about the world as we know it today that the decision to ignore it makes me wonder if the writer was operating under the assumption that horror monster “rules” need to be clearly defined as though they were conceived for use in a videogame.

if_crazy=“yes”,  then bird=box 

speaking of the titular “bird box”: the movie is called that because they literally keep birds. in a box. the birds tell you when the monster is coming, so you can put on your blindfold. but heres the thing: the monster makes GGGGRRRRRROOORRORORO sounds nonstop when its running around in the area. you know when it’s coming. you can hear it coming from a mile away. so there’s really no point in having, a bird box. at one point the monster is so loud they can’t hear the birds over its roaring. whats the point of the birds? as it turns out, the birdbox, is useless. much lIKE THIS MOVI

this movie is a never ending cascade of cliches and stolen plot points, characters, ideas. it steals from “the happening” (blatantly, its the same movie right down to the ugly color scheme of every frame), “dawn of the dead”, “pontypool”, “the mist” and pretty much every post-apocalyptic monster movie ever. bd wong is confirmed as a gay man literally 2 minutes before he dies on screen. the black comedic lead dies next. a pregnant woman is introduced and you’ll NEVER guess what happens to her. you could set your watch to this movie. its pathetic. 

welp, he’s dead

i’m going to link this guy’s deconstruction of the weird incestual overtones that are also impossible to miss and interpret without wanting to die. 

im getting exhausted again. this movie is not fun bad. this post is to serve as a warning to the curious. in fact, im going to spoil the end for you, so you truly understand why i’m so fucking mad. i want you, right now, to imagine based on what i’ve told you what the most hackney, cliche, stupid, moronic ending twist could be to this movie about a monster you can’t look at. fully form it in you head. dare to imagine the dumbest thing you can.

ready?

YOU SEE

[spadedraws]

Wait huh? Aren't you the one always trying to go outside the box whether it comes to fusion rules or au's? Being off color/defective doesn't mean short. Tbh, I feel as if it's their au and they should do what they please(your words of course)and transphobic or not, someone's bound to get butt hurt or disagree over it. No harm towards you at all and I am against transphobia but...you don't think you're looking in to it too much?

Putting aside your quite obvious tone of patronization; Yes I am the one who always tries to go outside the box when it comes to fusion rules and AUs! However, this isnt exactly the same. Discussing a headcanon for how fusion works is entirely different from regulating and informing yourself on the harmful media and representation trans people are subjected to on the daily.

Secondly, I never stated that the gem had to be short to be offcolor or defective, though I understand how the words i said could be interpreted that way. Someone came to me for advice, and I gave them the advice they asked for. They can make their Amethyst equivalent defective in any ways they’d like, be that too tall, too skinny, wonky arms, too short, too fat, really any type of bodily figure that goes outside the norm for the quartz of that type. I only gave one rule, again a rule they asked for: Dont make the gem’s defect their gender identity otherwise it could have some negative implications towards trans people in general. Do they have to follow this rule? I mean on a technicality no, they dont! But they suffer the consequences of putting themself at risk on a platform and media that is safe for the people they are (hypothetically) actively harming.

Since you’re so quick to analyze my wording however, (i.e. that little bit about “your words of course” was rude and you know it) let’s analyze yours, shall we? You state that you’re against transphobia, yet in the sentence directly before you say “transphobic or not, someone’s bound to get butthurt or disagree over it”. Interesting how that works out huh? You’re not transphobic..... except for when its just trans people getting “butthurt” about it. You could apply that to any context and it would still be just as wrong.

“racist or not, someone’s bound to get butthurt or disagree over it”

“sexist or not, someone’s bound to get butthurt or disagree over it”

“xenophobic or not, someone’s bound to get butthurt or disagree over it”

Just because a particular issue, ANY particular issue, is not relavent to YOU, doesnt mean that there aren’t people who are harmed by the issue. It still exist, and it still needs to be regulated regardless of how you feel.

Furthermore i wanna look at this little line right here:

“No harm towards you at all and I am against transphobia but...you don't think you're looking in to it too much?”

Im focusing on the second half really, but notice how you say, “you dont think you’re looking in to it too much?” No actually I dont!

How is it that, I get asked a question on MY platform, by a person who wants to know MY opinion on a particular topic, and then I go to a direct source for the answer, yet im looking into it too much?

Despite the tone of that text, I am genuinely curious on that one! Do you not research into topics that you’re asked about??? If I asked you, how many days would it take you to travel the world’s entire circumference walking in one straight line, and you consulted an expert on the weather patterns and the gear you would need and the physical stress your body would endure over that amount of time, is it fair for me to say you’re looking too much into it?

The correct answer for that one is: no.

If I’m looking for a legitimate answer to a question, you should want to provide me with the most intelligible response. Thats not looking too much into it, thats called educating yourself and educating others.

Going back to the original subject, and I’ll try to keep it brief since I’ve been talking for a long time now: My main point is that trans people deserve to be treated with respect. They didnt have this right for such a long time. Im doing my part in making trans people feel comfortable in these spaces. If you have a problem with me teaching people how to respectfully write their characters, we can have a one on one discussion in the private messaging system if you’d like. But dont you dare come on anon and tell me that im wrong for treating my friends with the respect they deserve and teaching others to do the same.

[papa-rhys]

i know you receive a lot of writing requests (bc your writing is wonderful!!) so please dont feel pressured or rushed to write this or anything! but i was wondering if you would like to write charles x adorable, short reader? like maybe the boys tease him bc charles is such a big, tough man and reader is tiny ray of sunshine who brings out charles’ soft side like no one else? idk, you can interpret/write this however you want, i just need charles fluff LOL

Reassurance (Charles X Reader)

Now that I’m reading over this, it sounds sad? I didn’t mean for that to happen, I’m sorry, lmao. I tried to write this in 6 different ways and I just could not for the life of me channel it correctly, if that makes sense? Hopefully this will suffice! 

You sit on the floor underneath the canvas where you andCharles sleep, waiting out the miserable weather in the moderate comfort of thebedrolls that the two of you laid together to form one big enough for the bothof you to share.

Charles sits near you, resting against a box and quietlyreading the newspaper that Hosea had given to him earlier in the day and youfind yourself bored of watching the fog and lashing rain. Deciding that you’re in need of someaffection, you crawl over to where he sits.

“What you readin’?” you chirp, poking your head over the topof his newspaper.

“The news,” he says sarcastically with a smile on his face.

“Har har. Anythinginteresting?”

“Not really. Some stuff about us, but other than that, it’sjust the usual nonsense about bigwings and thieving politicians.”

“Sounds thrilling,” you state, rolling your eyes and takingthe top of the newspaper between your thumb and forefinger. Slowly tugging thepaper from his hands, you smile up at him mischievously. “I can think of far better ways to pass thetime on a day like this,” you tell him, suggestively.

There’s a brief secondwhere you could have sworn Charles looked alarmed – almost scared – at thethought of having sex with you and your stomach churns a little with the blowto your confidence that comes along with him clearing his throat and edgingaway from you.

“What’s wrong?” you ask him, resting back on your knees andplacing your hands in your lap; your head tilted to one side.

“I, uh… I just don’t –“

“You don’t want me?”

“No! I mean, yes – I do wantyou. I just…” He runs his fingers through his hair, pushing it back out of hisface before letting out a deep sigh of frustration. “You’re so small,” he says.“Some of the boy’s think I might be… hurting you… when we��”

“They – Christ, that’s what this is about? The boyspicking on you again?” You can’t help but breath a sigh of relief, followed bya chuckle. For a moment there, you were scared he might have gone off you, andknowing that he hasn’t… well, it’s an understatement to say that you’re happy. Charles has been receivingsome flak for a while now; mainly about the size difference between the two ofyou. It’s all in jest, you’re sure, but it pains you to find out that it affectshim this deeply. It’s not like him to not want to touch you – he usually hashis hands all over you at every opportunity – so him abstaining from being intimatewith you is proof enough for you that the once jovial, offhand comments aregetting a little too out of hand now.

“I just don’t wanna hurt you,”he says. “I couldn’t bear it if you were in pain and you weren’t telling me.”

“You don’t hurt me,” youreassure him. “Those boys are just talking outta the side of their necks. Youdon’t gotta listen to a damn word from them.”

There’s a moment of silence as Charles pauses and gazes down and his hands, pondering the size of them. “They think I act funny when I’m around you,” he mumbles,allowing you to scoot next to him and take his hand in yours.

“Yeah? Well they also thinkBill Williamson is funny, so I wouldn’t read so much into that,” you smile. “Theyclearly have a poor sense of humour.”

You stroke the back of hishand with your thumb and he puts his other arm around your shoulder, pullingyou in tight and squeezing you into him. You rest your head on his chest,breathing deeply and calmly as you absorb his warmth in the midst of the dreary weather.

“I’m sorry for making youfeel bad about yourself,” he says softly, before planting a kiss on the top ofyour head. “It wasn’t my intention.”

“No, I know,” you smile up athim sweetly. “Rain’s clearin’ up. You wanna head into town and see what troublewe can get into?”

Charles looks around the campbefore letting a small hmm escape his throat as he thinks the idea over. “Most of the boys are outon that job with Dutch,” he says, lifting his hand from around your shoulder topull some hair out of your face. “Camp’s pretty empty. It’d be a waste if wedidn’t take advantage of the peace and quiet.”

“Oh yeah?” you grin, sittingup and craning your neck to kiss him.

“I mean, if you don’t want to then…” he smiles, placing his hand on your jaw.

“I’ll be sure to screamparticularly loud to let you know if you hurt me,” you joke.

“Oh, you do that,” he smirks,nodding his head before scooping you up and laying you down on the bedroll; leaningdown and trailing tickly kisses along your collarbone that leave you giggling asyou bury your fingers in his hair.

Bonus: The day before

You give Charles a peck on the cheek as the two of you partways at the campfire. It’s late and cold and you’d much rather be asleep thanbe sat around the fire with the boys and their liquor-fuelled bickering.

“I’ll be over soon,” Charles tells you, letting go of yourhand as you head off to your tent.

“You two look close,” Bill comments, approaching thecampfire as Charles takes a seat.

“We are,” Charlesresponds curtly.

Bill swigs from hisbottle of whiskey, keeping his eyes on Charles he does so. He’s clearly drunk - as evidenced by him swaying like a tree in the breeze as he stands - and Charles knows enough about Bill to know that the conversation that follows will be anything but dull. “So,” Bill starts, prompting Charles to roll his eyes. “How does… y’know… how does it work?” 

Bill makes a gesture towards Charles’ crotch, then towards the direction that you had walked off in, and Charles blinks at him for a moment before responding. “Howdoes whatwork?” he asks, though he surely already knows where Bill is going with this.

“Y’know… how do you… fuck? I mean, you’re a biiiiig fella… and Y/N’sso small. Doesn’t it hurt ‘em?”

Bill – waiting on some kind of answer – stares Charles down. 

“Isthis, uh…” Charles clears his throat and does his best to hide hisembarrassment and discomfort. “Is this a joke, Bill?”

Bill shrugs. “Well it was semi-serious to begin with, but since you seem to find it sooffensive, I guess it’s a joke.”

There’s a few seconds of silence – seconds that feel like hours to the both of them – and Bill eventually decides that it’d be best to take himself out of the conversation. He bids Charles a good night and staggers off towards the poker table where Mr Pearson and Javier sit, leaving Charles to look down and examine himself, contemplating the size of his frame.

[homespork-review]

Homespork Act 2: The Racism of the Conductor’s Baton (Part 2)

FAILURE ARTIST: We don’t get much time to mourn with Dave because the comic flashes to a weird wizard statue. This statue is ZAZZERPAN THE LEARNED. Wizards are another recurring theme in Homestuck. Andrew Hussie once artfully defaced this cheesy book called Wizardology (warning: lots of really offensive humor). Anyway, Rose hates the giant statue and the other wizard paraphernalia her mother collects and believes her mother does this only to spite her. On a platform is a bronzed vacuum (with a place to put alcoholic beverages) that Rose gave her as an ironic present. On the couch there’s a life-sized princess doll that Rose has attached a Cthulhu-type head to. All these things set up Rose’s troubled relationship with her mother. Rose believes her mother is taunting her and Rose taunts her back.

BRIGHT: This scene also establishes that some things (the Cthulhu doll for one) are too big to be captchalogued.

CHEL: Actually, that was noted with the harlequin doll earlier but we forgot to mention that.

FAILURE ARTIST: Rose goes to the kitchen. On the fridge is a crude picture of her late cat Jaspers, who turns out to be more than a family pet. There’s more signs of this cold war between mother and daughter on the fridge.

CHEL: Also, numerous liquor bottles in the kitchen and comically exaggerated displays of wealth, such as a fifteen-thousand-dollar picture frame.

FAILURE ARTIST: After fussing with the fridge, Rose tries to leave the kitchen only to run into her mother. She tries escaping but lands comically in some wizard statuettes.

CHEL: Mom Lalonde is mopping the floor, with no water in the bucket, holding a martini in her other hand. The woman clearly has a problem. Again, this is an issue with the portrayal of the parents; this is pretty funny, but were a real mother behaving this way, it would seriously mess up the kid, and whether we’re supposed to take it as Rule of Funny or not later becomes inconsistent.

BRIGHT: I think a lot of the humour here is supposed to come from the implication that Mom Lalonde actually is a loving if clueless (and drunk) parent, and Rose is reading her badly. On the other hand, something is clearly very wrong, and while Mom Lalonde may indeed be loving the situation is definitely having an impact on Rose.

TIER: Say whatever you want, but when putting on the late game Cerebus Retcon goggles there are probably non-humorous questions to be asked about how screwy Mom Lalonde is as a parental unit if her daughter has ended up interpreting most of her actions as mocking or backhanded towards herself. Like, kids don't just decide that.

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 3

CHEL: Back to Dave, he’s chatting with GG and they’re being adorable. GG comments about her birthday present to John, the green box we saw in the car earlier, and…

GG: no!!!!!!! GG: he will not open it GG: he will lose it!!! TG: oh TG: uh TG: wow sorry to hear that i guess? GG: no its good actually! GG: because he will find it again later when he really needs it GG: which of course is why i sent it in the first place! TG: see like TG: i never get how you know these things GG: i dont know GG: i just know that i know!

I think here is when we start to get inklings of the kids’ unusual abilities - I mean, unusual in the context of the weird world they live in. A bit more is established about GG’s home life and Dave’s attitudes, too:

GG: i have to feed bec which is always a bit of an undertaking TG: man TG: if i were you i would just take that fucking devilbeast out behind the woodshed and blow its head off GG: heheheh! GG: i dont think i could if i tried!!! TG: yeah TG: say hi to your grand dad for me too ok GG: ._. GG: yes i guess an encounter with him is almost certain GG: it is usually........ GG: intense!!! TG: well yeah isnt it always with family TG: but he sounds like a total badass

“Intense” in a world where attacking your father with a hammer isn’t worthy of comment sounds worrying. We’ll see how that goes.

FAILURE ARTIST: Dave has the tiniest of smiles here and in Hussie’s annotation he says that one pixel created Dave/GG. Whether or not their connection is romantic, Dave obviously feels great affection for her.

CHEL: Interactions between all four of the kids are really sweet, honestly. Dialogue and character interactions are one of the strongest points of the comic overall. Personally I have a soft spot for the OT4.

TIER: In my unprofessional opinion, the beta humans are by far the most functioning and tight knit group of the various groups within the comic, for what that's worth considering the overall dysfunction junction. They're sweet to one another is what I'm saying.

CHEL: Dave talks to John, who mentions the creepy trails around his house and how he thinks he’s seen monsters, which we the audience have definitely seen; creepy little black imps with fangs and, oddly, jester outfits. They bear a striking resemblance to the Wayward Vagabond, in fact. Dave makes fun, but at least pretends not to disbelieve him, and urges him to keep his hammer at the ready. Dave can’t find his Bro, but can find “Lil Cal”, implying Bro is nearby.

TG: lil cal is the shit EB: that's fine, you are entitled to your opinion, i am just saying that being a white guy who is a rapper with a ventriloquist doll is not cool by any stretch of the imagination or by any definition of word cool, ironic or otherwise. that's all i'm saying. WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 5

Would a non-white rapping ventriloquist be any cooler? I’m struggling to see how. Ventriloquism, by definition, sucks the cool out of any other aspect of the thing. And now I’m picturing Carlton from Fresh Prince trying to rap with a ventriloquist’s doll.

BRIGHT: Back at the Lalonde residence, Rose attempts to ‘Youth Roll’ out of the front door, but her escape route is blocked by her mother, who appears with martini glass in hand. Time for our second Strife of the comic! (And can I say that I really like the music for this one?)

As with John’s strife with his dad, this strife tells us a lot about Rose’s relationship with her mother. John had the AGGRIEVE and ABJURE options; Rose also gets AGGRESS (PASSIVE) and ABSTAIN. It’s pretty telling that one of these options is an EMPTY SUICIDE THREAT, and ‘Abstain’ has Rose fending off her mother’s insistent offer of the martini glass.

FAILURE ARTIST: I liked the EMPTY SUICIDE THREAT at the time but now I think it deserves an ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?

BRIGHT: Mom Lalonde may be intended as loving-but-clueless, but she’s offering her thirteen year old daughter alcohol, over Rose’s protests, and something is clearly very wrong if suicide threats are a normal part of life. (Something similar will come up in the future, but in that context it isn’t played for laughs.)

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 4

On a lighter note, ‘Abjure’ has her mother offering her A BEAUTIFUL PONY. Rose reacts in the moment like this is terrible, but does later pat the pony’s nose.

At any rate, the strife ends when Mom Lalonde apparently gets bored and decides to do some dusting. This takes all the fun out of using the front door, so Rose goes around the back to make her break for the generator.

Meanwhile, John is trying to read up on weaponizing sylladexes (sylladices?), but is being nagged by a voice to turn around — which he finally does, just in time for a monster to ram into him so hard it turns the panel pixelated. Strife time!

John’s bout with the Shale Imp kicks off with the monster threatening the Con Air bunny. John’s efforts to defend it are intercut with Rose’s progress out of the house and through the rain to the mausoleum. I think this interplay works quite nicely — it keeps both things moving without letting the reader get impatient -- but your mileage may vary.

The imp aggravates John by punching the bunny in the belly and waving it at him. John attacks the imp and breaks his hammer, then attacks it with the handle and gets knocked flat. Finally he weaponises his sylladex and chucks his inventory at it until it explodes into a shower of grist.

PUT THE BUNNY BACK IN THE BOX!!!!!! Now why couldn’t he put the bunny back in the box?

Because he’d set it as his strifekind, it turns out.

In true video game style, defeating the imp causes John to level up! In Homestuck, this is done by ascending one’s echeladder, a series of player levels with whimsical, old-fashioned names. John climbs two rungs, from Greentike to Plucky Tot, and earns 125 Boondollars.

Note how efficient this is: In one panel we can see that the echeladder is a levelling system, that Boondollars are in-Game currency, and that levelling up has increased John’s amount of grist and how much of it he can carry. He’s also got a new kind of grist called ‘Shale’. Hussie does take an extra panel to clarify the grist capacity expansion, but that makes sense as it’s a small part of the original panel. Compare this to the dozens of panels we’ve had laying out how sylladexes work. These panels are much more information-dense, and the comic flows better for it.

CHEL: Exactly what “grist” is and what it does beyond allowing changes to the house, why those changes are needed, and what “boondollars” are for hasn’t been explained yet, but will be soon, and it’s clear they’re something to do with the game so it’s not outright confusing.

BRIGHT: John spends the next few panels sorting his strife specibus out, and stashes the bunny in there for safekeeping. There’s something amiss, but he can’t quite put his finger on it...

Meanwhile, Rose has reached the mausoleum and prepares to activate the generator. The taxidermied corpse of her beloved pet lies in state, dressed in a tiny suit. A sad fate for an animal who should have peacefully decomposed in a flowerbed. Rose kicks it off the pedestal to make room for the laptop.

John discovers what’s wrong when a bucket of water perched atop his door lands on his head. The culprit behind this sudden dousing?

"[S] WHAT THIS IS SO OUTRAGEOUS (HD)" (Watch on YouTube)

Apparently the sprite has a sense of humour.

Next up is a pesterlog between Rose and Dave. There are hints that all is not well in the Strider residence.

TG: hey TG: dont tell john this but i think he might have been right about the puppets TG: theyre sort of starting to freak me out a little TT: You're referring to your brother's collection? TG: i mean dont get me wrong i think its cool and all TG: the semi-ironic puppet thing or whatever TG: or semi-semi ironic TG: man i dont even know TG: im just starting to think some of this shit is going a little far and its kind of fucked up TT: I've seen his websites. TT: I like them. TG: haha yeah well YOU WOULD TG: oh man i wish lil cal wouldnt look at me like that TG: with those dead eyes jesus TG: sometimes i dream that hes real and hes talking to me and i wake up in a cold sweat and basically flip the fuck out

Well, not so much hints as flashing neon signs. Dave’s gone very quickly from insisting that everything his brother does is cool and Lil Cal is awesome, to admitting that he has nightmares about Lil Cal and is freaked out by his brother’s ‘semi-ironic puppet thing’. We don’t know much about Bro’s websites yet, but we do know that Rose has a morbid streak, and Dave is clearly disturbed by the content.

Dave leaves to find his brother’s copy of the game, and we return to John, who, to quote Rose, has ‘just had a bucket of water dumped on his head by the ghost of his dead grandmother, who also happens to be dressed like a clown.’

And yes, that is indeed John’s dead Nanna, returned to help him on his journey through The Medium and beyond -- or at least, she claims she is. John has to take her word for it, as he doesn’t remember her at all. According to his Dad, John was pretty young when she died. Speaking of his Dad, he’s been kidnapped by the forces invading John’s home.

Nannasprite gives John the background of the game and what’s going on. His house is now in the Medium. This place was created by the game software, but is physically independent of it -- and no, he’s not inside a computer. The Medium floats in the Incipisphere, a place outside the normal flow of time in the kids’ universe. Above the Medium is the realm of Skaia.

According to Nannasprite:

Legend holds that Skaia exists as a dormant crucible of unlimited creative potential. What does this mean, you ask? I'm afraid my lips are sealed about that, dear! Hoo hoo!

Nannasprite is somewhat like a tutorial assistant for the game -- she helps guide John and provides information, although she’s somewhat cryptic.

We are getting a lot of new words here, but Hussie is defining them pretty well as we go, so I don’t think it merits a point.

At any rate, Skaia is defended by the forces of light, while forces of darkness plot its destruction. These two forces exist in an endless stalemate on a stage at the centre of Skaia until a player with a prototyped Kernelsprite enters the Medium. Then the prototyped Kernelsprite splits, with one Kernel carrying the prototyping information up to a kingdom basked in light, and another Kernel carrying it down to the kingdom of darkness. Each kingdom has four Spires, and when the Kernel reaches one, it propagates the prototyping information to the kingdom’s forces.

This is why the imps were dressed as jesters: John prototyped his Kernel with the harlequin doll, and whatever the other players prototype with will influence what forms the soldiers take. When the first Kernels reach the spires, the battlefield gets bigger and the war begins for real.

Oh, right -- and the forces of light are always destined to lose.

So what’s the point? Apparently, that’s for John to find out. For now, though, he needs to head towards Skaia, going through the first of seven Gates. The first Gate is situated directly above John’s house, but the others are going to be harder to reach. We now find out what all that Build Grist is for: To get to the Gate, they need to build the house higher to reach it. And then they can rescue John’s Dad, solve the ultimate riddle, and save the Earth from destruction!

...or not.

Nope, according to Nannasprite, Earth is doomed. Done for. Kaput. There is nothing they can do to save it.

John is pretty bummed about this. He isn’t cheered by Nanna’s assurance that he has a much more important purpose than saving the planet, although she fails to elaborate on that point and instead floats off to make cookies.

CHEL: I think here we earn another couple of points.

HURRY UP AND DO NOTHING: 2 HOW NOT TO WRITE A WEBCOMIC: 11 Failing the Turing Test - wherein the character has no reactions whatsoever While the emotional lives of characters should not be described in their every tiny wrinkle, characters must have emotional lives. When someone boos them off a stage, they should experience chagrin. When they fall from a tenth-storey window, they should feel alarm. The writer should not count on dialogue like “Yikes!” to get the point across.

Brief confusion and feeling “bummed out” by the news that one’s entire planet is doomed does not count as an adequate reaction. I’d expect more fear, more concern. As pointed out before, doesn’t John have any friends other than Dave, Rose, and GG? His Dad has friends, wouldn’t he be concerned for them on Dad’s behalf? If nothing else, more curiosity about this “more important” business?

BRIGHT: Now, I could actually buy this in some circumstances — John is a teenager, doesn’t seem to have close connections outside those we see on screen, and he’s been having one hell of a weird day. I wouldn’t be surprised if grasping the scope of destruction was simply beyond him at this point. It’s a lot to take in, and it’s only been a few hours since life went to hell in a handbasket — not to mention, he’s in an active combat zone. There’s a lot going on, and if he was to shove it out of his mind while he dealt with the immediate crisis, I could see that as pretty realistic.

Of course, that would depend on him actually reacting at some later point, when he had a chance to slow down and it could sink in. As it stands...well, if that does happen, we never see it.

CHEL: Does this also count as “Oh, Don’t Mind Him” for the How Not To score?

BRIGHT: I think so, yes.

CHEL: Then here it goes!

HOW NOT TO WRITE A WEBCOMIC: 12 Oh, Don’t Mind Him - where a character’s problems remain unexplored In real life, people are riddled with chronic problems that are not addressed for long periods of time, if ever. But in fiction, all problems are just the opening chords of a song. If there is a brother who has a problem with alcohol, a child who has lost her dog, or even someone whose car has simply broken down, the reader will worry about those people and expect the author to do something about it.

Technically, this could count for seven billion or so points, minus any people who successfully entered their own game sessions, but we don’t want to get out of hand here and it really only counts as one big problem.

However! I am very fond of this idea in theory. The obvious option would be that the purpose of the game is to save the player’s homeworld. We’ve all seen the “save the homeworld” idea in scifi and fantasy before. Here, the homeworld is beyond saving, but there is another option, and exploring that is the storyline. The forces of light cannot have a traditional victory; the protagonists must find a victory on the terms they have. It’s not a theme one sees often, and I like it.

FAILURE ARTIST: John and the other Beta Kids’ lack of angst of the destruction of their planet doesn’t stick out as much here as it will later when almost everything else is milked for angst.

CHEL: I’m not really sure the planet being destroyed is a great basis for a Rule-of-Funny-based story if that was what he was going for, to be honest. “Billions died, lol!”

[cloudslou]

rant anon again, hiiii! thank you for replying :)

"but it can be very exhausting when its the only lens ppl use to look at their art. not only is it just a tad annoying, i think its pretty dismissive and reductive to take that approach every time." -> yes. YES that's exactly what i was trying to say, thank you for putting it into better words.

"there is so much more to a song (or any piece of art) than its "true" meaning (and i say that liberally because even when larries connect on of hl's songs to the other or their real lives, this is no more "true" than connecting a song to a girlfriend, etc, i think there's too much certainty by fans in this fandom) and it limits ur enjoyment of a song i think to not push to break out of that box." -> omg thank your for bringing that up, i actually had that in mind too and wanted to discuss it with someone. i know, I KNOW!!!!!! it feels like some people in the fandom present their ideas and their interpretations (is that the right word?) as the only correct ones when it comes to song meanings and lyrics and references and it makes me so mad. i totally respect people having opinions and being passionate about the meaning of something but thinking YOUR viewing of something is the only correct one is so. bleh. we don't actually know the true meaning of a song (or as you said, any form of media) because 1. it doesn't exist!!!!! there's not just one meaning in art!!!!! 2. the only one who knows the "true meaning" in something are the artists themselves. yeah, fan theories are fun and stuff but not when you're like okay guys i got it!!! this means this and that means that and you have to think the same as me!! also, in my opinion, over-explaining and over-analysing "kills" x piece of art. (in our case, songs and mvs and whatever else) you don't have to find a certain meaning behind every song, every lyric, every word, you know what i'm saying?

thank you again for the time and patience! nice chatting with you 😊

yes u have it right w interpretations!!! i think many ppl, and not thru malice or intent, end up w the attitude of "my interpretations are the only right interpretations" (if you dont see the clear mean of the sushi mv, ur wrong! if you dont think X t shirt is a reference to Y, you're not looking closely enough! etc etc)

i think its quite fun when we actually have a wide variety of interpretations and different parts of songs/mvs resonate with us, and for different reasons. it would be so much less fun to exist on 1d tumblr if everyone always came to the same conclusions and had the same ideas about art. and i also think its quite fun to take a piece of art (song or mv or what have you) and let it sit on its own, regardless of who is singing it, what album its on, and ask what it could be telling us. what story is there? what story COULD be there? i think its fun to be moved to different interpretations based on ME and my own experiences and life and what kinds of art connects w me.

but i also agree with you that not everything needs to be explained, or over-explained. there's a lot of things abt their lyrics and lyricism that i think gets hyper-focused on, as if its autobiographical, verbatim truth, and its helpful for me to remind myself that songwriters often change facts in their writing; taylor swift originally had "brown eyes" instead of "green eyes" (a lyric that predates even the earliest recording of sparks fly), and didnt niall say that his song san francisco is actually about a different city, but san fran fit better in the song? or did i make that up? AND even w that, many lines end up being phrased how they are, or exist at all, because a verse necessitates it. the melody necessitates it. some or a lot of specific references may be accurate to real life (for example, i dont think "princess park" was inserted for songwriting purposes, thats a very specific reference that doesnt need to be that specific), but i think its better to look at a whole song rather than zero-in, if you want to talk about meaning.

[bookofmirth]

Some more spoilery thoughts on Mor in ACOWAR below from some anon asks - this gets long:

referencing your post about mors sexuality, shes actual gay not bi apparently she only sleeps with men because she tries to cover her tracks or something (so maybe dont do the threesomes since it is pushing her into that box of having to hide which is wrong in my eyes but maybe thats just me) and ive seen multiple posts about mor maybe being gay? and the hints to this in acomaf, i think the user propshophannah has written a few theories to if you want to check those out!! xx

So just for a bit more background, I was spoiled for this info on Saturday. And I was told these circumstances - the “compulsory heterosexuality” (which, come on, did sjm actually write that phrase???), the preferring women but still sleeping with men, etc. I am reserving judgement about her actual sexuality until I have read the books and have more evidence. All I’ve seen so far are general statements via other people’s interpretation, and I’m not interested in seeing any more spoilers without context at this point, which is why I’m out of tumblr (or at least this blog) after today.

I have seen multiple posts about Mor being gay in the last few days. Sounds like pretty convenient timing for people to have headcanons, if you ask me.

I have seen offhand comments about her sexuality over the last few months, but I’ve also seen those comments made in the same breath as support for theories that moriel are in a secret relationship. Which.... doesn’t speak to me about the strength of the evidence for her sexuality. And honestly, the fact that such a huge number of people read their relationship as romantic DOES speak volumes to me. This is why I brought up the POC analogy - you can’t just.... half ass a thing and expect that to be rep.

If you have a huge portion of the people reading a thing in a certain way, that’s the meaning they have derived. Death of the author and all that friends, Roland Barthes was right, sjm can create as much meaning as she wants but we are the ones who interpret the text and interact with it. And the way she wrote ACOMAF and the way that many, many people read this relationship, was romantic, if not sexual. Which means that she did not do an adequate job of establishing Mor’s sexuality. Which makes it feel like she is going back retroactively and making this statement. And I’m leaving all of my Mor/moriel meta up because... I’m not going to delete evidence that shows in how many ways we were NOT meant to read moriel as a platonic friendship.

Agree with you all the way. I think that SJM wanted to have this big WTF "plot twist" but hasn't thought it through. No clue in ACOMAF, nada, zip. It's stated she's had lovers in the past, so what is she, bi? Or was she lying about it her entire life? And couldn't  she at least tell my poor baby Azriel? It's not like she doesn't know he has feelings for her. Anyway, my problem with  this is that it makes one of my fave characters look really, really bad and for what?

Thanks, nonnie. I have been pretty steamed about this for so many reasons, so it’s nice to know I’m not alone. I really don’t like the idea that this is being used as a plot twist. I really hope that’s not what is going on here. Because that would be a shit way to integrate diversity.

I think my biggest problem with the idea that Mor has been hiding her sexuality is if this is supposed to be some kind of statement on “oh look at this shitty patriarchy I hath created, watch as I show you the multiple Problematic Things and make Shitty Situations for with which mine characters may then be Tokens!” In other words, don’t use this shit as a tool to show that you “understand” misogyny and homophobia, thanks.

I was having a conversation with someone else who also thought that this will be more reason for people to hate on Mor, and I soooo despise that fact. If that’s where The Discourse goes, imma be pissed. I may not be moriel defense squad anymore (because I am surprisingly ok with whatever happens there, I don’t want to disappoint Sierra or Kate or Lucia but I’m not going down with this ship, I just want Mor and Az to be happy, together, apart, whatever), but I will always be #Mor defense squad. I am just curious how much Az may know or not know about this. I’m not going to speculate. I’m going to reserve comments on that until I’ve read ACOWAR. I have ideas though, and they would actually support him knowing all along. Which makes her not a bitch. Although I know plenty of people would love to paint her that way.

[tonedpins]

One rule for the cunts and one rule for everyone else.

I received this lovely ask today and now is the time for me to answer…

To put you in context, I received an anonymous message 2 days ago (to which I’m pretty sure this one is related to) that I decided not to reply to for a couple of reasons. The most important reason being that it’s related to one of my personal friend, named in said message, and I don’t want that person to feel like they have to address it publicly if they don’t want to, the choice is theirs to make.

The message was asking me about why I had not said anything about my friend meeting Catherine when I had been so quick to judge people at the stage door in Bath, and then went on to say that my friend followed Catherine to have a conversation with her and feel like she’s better than everybody else, the message also said ‘‘that’s like not overly familiar at all’’.Here are the twitter post I made about the stage door situation;

I’ve just witness the most ridiculous behaviour from people that call themselves fans, since when backing someone in a corner is acceptable?

I felt so bad for Jemma, she was clearly feeling stock and wanted some room to move… and Jules was just a sweetheart trying to help

I wish I was, and honestly I don’t care that this might make me hated by some of the fandom but it needed to be said!

I dont know how anyone could feel good about taking a picture with them in that kind of environnement

My Twitter is x0xmarie0x0 and the post where made on April 1st, 2017

(To those wondering, I checked and I didn’t made a post on Tumblr related to this, I thought I had but apparently not) 

I still stand by what I said that day, now, if you were there and have a completely different feeling about how things went, it’s your opinion and I respect it, but this is how I personally felt and it’s not going to change. This was not normal stage door behaviour, I get being excited but it doesn’t excuse invading people’s personal space like some did. I also know I’m not the only person who felt that way. I have personally waited at a stage door for a mega movie star in the past and even that wasn’t as intense as what happened that day.

Like I said, I’m not going to name or tag the person about whom those messages seems to be related to because I want them to be able to choose to address it or not, it’s their choice, not mine to make. (I have deleted posts that would have made it clear as to whom it is for this exact reason) What I can tell you about them is that yes, they indeed had an ‘‘out of the ordinary’’ moment with Catherine and I’m one of the few that person chose to share it with. I’m not going to give any specific details about it, not only for them but also to respect Catherine and what she decided to share or not share with that person. I don’t know how the words got out and how this anon heard about it, I’ve personally shared a bit more details than what I’m writing here to some friends I trust wouldn’t have said anything. The only thing I might have told (or been overheard sharing) is how Catherine told that person Jemma was going to be at that specific representation of WTBS, it is the only way I could see as to how that anon knew I knew about my friend and Catherine meeting. The last thing I can had about this meeting is that they have not followed Catherine anywhere in the way the message implied, I know for a fact that person was thinking about not meeting Catherine at all during their trip.

I want to make it clear that I do not think my friend or myself are perfect, or that my opinion (or theirs) is better than anyone else. I’m also not doing this just to defend someone I care about, I’m doing this because I’m sick and tired of fandom wars and people not being respectful towards one another. I don’t believe in going into people ask box, using the anonymous feature, to call people names (in this case c*nts… really, what are we, 10yrs old?) and try to start fights. Don’t you think maybe people would feel more free about sharing their experiences if they didn’t have to be scared some people would get jealous and start harassing them or their friends? I have heard about private messsage boards/forums where people actually ask members to harass others because they said something they didn’t agree with or felt like something someone said was disrespectful towards Catherine or Jemma. That’s what I call online bullying and being someone who was the victim of this specific kind of bullying I cannot stay silent about this.

I know that I am a really opinionated person (I mean, look at the size of this post) and sometimes I understand how people could interpret it as me thinking I’m better than others (which I swear I don’t) and I sometimes react a bit too quickly and don’t take time to process things before publicly saying something. I made friends in this fandom with people I don’t always agree with (including the friend I’m specifically talking about here) and, in all honesty, I sometime even feel a tiny bit of jealousy when it comes to my (berena) friends having opportunities or experiences I don’t or didn’t get to have. I am far from being perfect and definitely never thought me or any of my friends are, I’ll be the first to admit when I was wrong about something (even if it hurts my ego) and am ready to talk things out with people when needs to be. I certainly don’t know everything but one thing I do know is that no one deserve to ever feel like they are less than others or that they don’t have the right to enjoy things because others don’t think they should.

I’m also going to take the time to rant (because let’s face it, this is partly what I’m doing here) on a couple of different things; 

Catherine and Jemma DO NOT have to do all the things they do for us, it’s nice of them to take the time to share part of their time and lives and I think it’s our responsibility to make sure they have a great time doing it. I’m not saying we have to agree with all they do or say, but we can make sure that even when we don’t we all stay polite towards them and each other.

One of the particularity of this fandom is how much we try to support both Catherine and Jemma but also their friends and family. I personally follow most of their family members on most social media, and I’m the first one to admit I shouldn’t interact with them as much as I do, but I think it’s important to remember that some of them are less comfortable with the attention than others and they don’t have to deal with their mum/wife/sister/friend fans like they do and we should all stay respectful of their boundaries. I’m just trying to say that maybe we should evaluate the reasons why we support them and then adapt our support accordingly. There’s nothing wrong with you going to see one of Sam show because you really find him funny (I’m planning on doing it next time I’m in London), nothing wrong if you love Poppy’s music and poetry (I know I personally love all of it) and want to tell her about it, nothing wrong if you are excited about Gab’s new/latests projects, but all of it isn’t right if you do it only to get recognition from Catherine and Jemma. These people are their owns entities and they deserve to be loved and respected for who they are and not because of whom their parents are.

Conventions season is here and a lot of lucky people will get to meet both Jemma and Catherine in London (sadly I won’t be able to attend), and the week after, Jemma in Birmingham (I’ll be there), so please people, make the experiences enjoyable for not only Jemma and Catherine but for all the other fans going. This includes not screaming random stuff to get their attention while they are meeting up with people (I’ve seen this happen, I should really say experienced it, in Bath and in all honesty those people are really lucky I didn’t want to cause a scene), some people might be more nervous than others, some might take a bit more time with them for a lot of reasons, some might choose to share private things with them they don’t want to tell everyone else so please mind your own business until it’s your time with them. I would also encourage people to help eachother out, if it’s not your first time at a Con and you realize it’s the first time for someone else and they don’t really know how it works give them pointers, if you see someone being so nervous they feel like running away, they might simply need for someone to be there and tell them it’s going to be alright. If it’s your first time doing this kind of thing, please do a bit of research, it will help you and others in the long run (I know it did for me). Last thing, if it’s not your first time meeting them, be mindful of that and let others have their moments with them too, we want as many people as possible to be able to experience this at its fullest and to have fun doing it. At the end of the day, what we want is for them to continue doing these kind of things with us, isn’t it? So please, don’t be an a*shole.

Catherine is really open, and I mean REALLY open about stuff online which means that we also are pretty open in the way we reply to her (me the first) but I’ve seen some weird and maybe a bit to personal and inappropriate things being said to her on Twitter, so for the love of god (or whatever you believe in) please remember that this is public and for everyone to see and that she’s human and even though I’m sure she doesn’t get shocked by much maybe they are things she shouldn’t or doesn’t want to know.

I could definitely go on and on (as you can probably tell by the length of this post) but I will stop after these few words;

The Berena fandom was (and still is) a really special place for a lot of people and it pains me to see that yet again a fandom I liked can’t seem to stick together because of different opinions on multiple of subjects. We have the chance to be in a fandom that connect people from different part of the world, coming from different backgrounds, different age groups, and we all connected with Berena for so many different reasons. Shouldn’t this be enough?

And to this lovely anon (I’m pretty sure I know who you are) next time you have something to tell me, please come off anon and let’s have a nice and civilise conversation (in private or publicly) but please know that I do not respond well to people calling me, or my friend, c*nts and I won’t let anyone try to intimidate me (been there, done that, not gonna let it happen again) so, you can stop this right now. And to anyone who doesn’t like me or what I have to say, it’s fine, you have the right to, ignore me (that’s what I usually do) or even block me if you need to but please don’t try to pick fights with me or the people I care about. (Collectormania won’t be the moment to try to speak to me unless you have something nice to say, I’m going there to enjoy myself and spend time with people I love and to meet Jemma not to create drama, leave me alone!)

On this note,

Good Night!

[universallylightcherryblossom]

@anagreementcalledlove (First off, sorry this is late, I wrote it since last Thursday and it was in my draft folder since I got pretty busy afterwards :/ )Thank you darling 😚 Yeah, work is really crazy these days but I’m doing my best to stay positive! Unfortunately tho, after moving boxes and emptying all the file cabinets by myself my allergies were aggravated and I had to return home after I left for work on Wednesday morning last week (8th) when I started feeling faint :( I slept for like 3hrs when I returned home. Now I’m back out to work and feeling a bit better but there’s more moving and stuff to be done from my office to the other one and then I have unpacking to do 😧 But I promise to try and take it easy!

Awwww it’s okay for you to ask me for tips! I am actually pretty happy that you’d ask me omg. Ah…I will try my best to give some tips from what I’ve experienced. Let’s see:

1) reading is the best thing one can do for their writing! Read lots because that expands your vocabulary and opens you up to the way that other writers handle certain things like plot devices and various elements of writing that may be problematic to you. Reading is very important, it’s like school for writers imo! Honestly I don’t read much since my time is so limited 😭 but I used to when I was a kid and I think that sparked something in me.

2) love what you write. Like really really love it. In my case I freaking love HisoGon to the point where I’ve sat down for 18hrs at a time or lost entire nights of sleep just writing / editing with only water and bathroom breaks. I don’t advise doing that tho, one doesnt have to be that obsessed…I’m just sick when it comes to HisoGon 😭 But I do encourage loving what you write wholly because that is what will drive you since this is a difficult hobby that most times has no real avenue for pay / reward / recognition so the love for your subject matter has to motivate you to keep going.

3) Dont be afraid to experiment with different scenes that may be problematic to you. Because it is only through practice that you improve your technique.

4) Have a vast imagination and see what you write in your mind’s eye…like you’re actually seeing it happening in front of you and describe that. For example, everything that you read that I write is based on what I ‘see’ in my mind’s eye. It may sound weird but that’s how it is for me. I see them talking, I see them fighting, I make myself feel what they’re feeling, I experience the environment they are in, etc and I try my best to interpret and describe what is happening so others can see / feel it too. Writing in my opinion is all about immersing yourself in what your characters experience; their pain, jelousy, frustration, joy. Even the sex. I love writing smutty stuff thus I love describing it too and that’s why it’s always so lengthy and descriptive lol ^///^ And yes I do ‘see’ them having sex too :0

5) research. Be prepared to do lots of it. Everything that you write should be properly researched, from the facts that surround your characters to any important information you want to include in your story. I believe that it is important as a writer to not feed your readers wrong information because although it may seem trivial, they learn a lot from reading what you write. This, in this respect, you’ll sometimes find yourself reading up on a wide range of subjects from medical stuff to business or revisiting the original source material for your characters in preparation to write a specific scene. Be prepared to research anything and everything.

6) visual. I explained before how I write by ‘seeing’ and experiencing what my characters see, but added to this is that while I write, I imagine that I’m drawing. I love to draw and although I lack practice in that field and am not an artist, I imagine myself painting but with my words. I try to create a picture that my readers will be able to see too when they read! Like, I tell myself that each word they read should add to the picture I am creating in their minds like the pieces to a puzzle, until it creates a beautifully completed picture.

Okay…Those are my personal tips. I think that’s it! I hope that this has helped you. If there’s anything that was unclear to you or anything else that you need advice on, do let me know!