#like I'm sorry but we are not a monolith and don't think the same way about issues???

[d1sc01nf3rn0]

I'm seeing a lot of people with neurodivergency, specially under the autism spectrum say that "Laios is annoying, never shuts up, is insensitive, and I can't stand him"; and the irony is not lost on me lmao.

[blakbonnet]

-

[soracities]

Hi, how do you manage to see children as good? I would like to, but I only see them as inconsiderate and terrifing in a way a military robot would be terrifing. Not evil, because they are wired that way and it's just who they are, but everyone would be better off avoiding them. I've been to therapy because I was bullied, but I didn't change my mind. I kinda feel like it's an elephant in the room and I am right. I'd like to hear the good stories as often as possible tho, maybe sth will change

I'm not coming for you, but with all due respect it's not "just who they are".

Children aren't military robots because they aren't lifeless hunks of machinery incapable of thought or feelings; they are human beings (like you were at that age) who are trying to make sense of the world around them (like you did at that age), and who want to be a part of that world and feel welcome in it (like you did at that age). They are not coded to do the same thing over and over with no input from anyone else, they are not machines singly wired for carnage: they watch, learn, adapt, respond and interact with things around them because these are smaller, younger versions of you and me learning what it means to exist on this planet in the first place with barely any filters, impulse control and absolutely no guidance on how to do this except what the environment around them (parents, friends, family, teachers) tell them is and isn't okay.

I don't believe this is a matter of inherent goodness or lack thereof--I don't believe anyone is inherently good or bad: what I believe is that we are all inherently social creatures who desperately want to be part of our communities and involved with other people. Children are no different. They want to learn, they want to help, they want to figure out where they belong in their little social units and they look to you to tell them where that is because they don't know yet. And if they are in an environment where bullying is okay (either because they were treated horribly and no one did anything or they see and hear others being treated horribly and no one did anything or they treated someone else horribly and no one did anything) than that is what they'll accept.

If you follow your logic that everyone is "better off "avoiding children--what then? How do you expect them to learn right from wrong if no one is volunteering to teach them? How do you expect bullying to stop if no one is taking the time to instill it in them that bullying is not okay? How do you expect them to ever learn to be kind and considerate when everyone around them makes it clear they're not wanted? How do you expect them to learn what any kind of care and responsibility looks like if everyone is avoiding them to begin with? How do you expect them to think for themselves and reach their own conclusions if you treat them all like a monolith? Every single adult is an ex-baby, an ex-child, an ex-teenager--how do you expect decent adults to come into this world if you avoid teaching all three of those?

I'm not saying any of this to dismiss what you went through or undermine the horror and the impact of it, and I genuinely am sorry you were put through so much. But the best way I can answer your question is with full honesty: and I think it is going to be difficult for you to find those "good stories" and be open to them if you are already convinced that you are right because of what happened to you, that children are automatically feral terrors and that everyone else is just pretending otherwise or ignoring the reality. I believe what I believe because I've spent years around kids and seen all sides of them. I know they can say horrible things. But I also know they learnt those horrible things from a careless adult, or another child exposed to a careless adult. Children can be terrifying--but they are terrifying to other children. And that terror is coming from a reactive and limited understanding of the world where so much of what happens to you often feels like it's coming from large, hidden, horrible forces you can't wrap your head around (because you can't, because your head is 8 years old). But the fact is adults are also terrifying to children. And which of those are you now?

I can't speculate on what you went through or how you processed it, but I think it's worth considering that you may still be looking at children through the eyes of the child you once were and the horrible experiences you had. Again, I'm not dismissing that pain--it's real and it happened to you, and I can absolutely understand your feelings and conclusions--but that doesn't mean they equate to objective conclusions or generalization about all children, especially since you were a child: would you look at yourself like something similar to a military robot? Would you want to have felt the adults around you thought it better to stay away from you? And what about the people in your life that you care about most? Can you imagine them when they were children, like you were? Would you think the same thing about them?

If you want to change your mind, you need to put yourself in situations where that opportunity arises without expecting that your belief is the default. If you can, ask teachers what their fondest memories are of teaching--what's the funniest thing they've heard, what's the kindest thing they've seen, what's surprised them most about kids? What have they learnt from kids (because you do learn--you learn all the time). Ask people who love children why they love children, or simply see if you can find discussions on forums where people share those stories. As I said, I've heard and seen kids do some awful things--but those are tiny compared to everything I've seen that is the opposite (boys giggling face to face on a hill, a tiny toddler waving at me on a bus, a child naming a slug that crept in through his window, a 9 year old boy trying to teach me morse code after having known me for 2 minutes despite how long it took me to understand). It might also help if you give yourself the opportunity to learn a little about child psychology--if people's experiences aren't enough for you, then maybe getting insights into how children's actual brains and minds work might. If you're curious, there's a documentary series from 2015 or so that follows 4, 5, and 6 years olds as they play and engage with each other here to try and understand what their world looks like.

Sincerely, I don't mean for any of this to sound harsh and I really hope it doesn't--but at the end of the day there isn't a secret, pure anecodte that will magically make you change your mind. Change isn't passive; it's something you decide to do and actively work on and that includes challenging your own beliefs by providing them with new and wider information. I'm not saying you have to become a kindergarten teacher to do this, or start spending all your time around children. But if we are going to survive in this world and forge any kind of lasting connections we have to be able to offer some amount of grace and understanding to each other and the people in our lives--and that goes doubly for the people who have barely even begun learning to be people at all.

[conejitomareador]

what made you wanna write the story for bitchless?

this question is so important to me... so i'll do my best to answer in full detail okay !!

i've been on and off in the south park fandom since i was in grade school, posting art on deviantart, alright? i love south park and i consume a lot of fan content. it's the autism, definitely. i got diagnosed during my second year of art school.

but i think that if art school gives you a specific mindset it's one of questioning visual art in all its forms. so, after my last comeback to these spaces in february 2022 i came to the conclusion that i don't like a few things that i see in fanart:

(this is not me saying that you shouldn't. if you or anyone reading this like them it's totally cool!! tropes and ships are popular for a reason, you know?)

1- i don't like stan's characterization. cishet (and in denial), popular, jock stan was a very common headcanon/trope that i grew up with, especially during the last decade. it made a lot of sense when the show started, but as we watch the current seasons, we see stan evolve into this nerdy kid who is obsessed with board games, quotes anime and enjoys metal music. we see him pay little to no attention to his girlfriend and growing more and more fixated towards his male best friend, he's always been curious about gender to the point of imitating big gay al. we see him literally question his own gender in bathroom doors. we barely see him play sports at this point? i don't think that the stan we currently have is headed to the direction the fandom had pointed towards him. so i started drawing him like a nerd. moving on.

2- i don't like how weirdly protective people are about canon ships (a.k.a. if someone made me date my grade school boyfriend right now i would hate it so much). stendy, creek and tolchole (to a lesser degree) are often kind of treated like a monolith- they're unquestionable and unmovable and always there, "because it's canon". i know how important was for creek to become canon, i was there. but after watching post-covid... man. does it give me a weird aftertaste that these two ten year olds who were forced into a relationship ended up married and these other two ten year olds who have lived in the same town for decades are now in a weird situationship. they should date other people at least for a little bit, develop emotional maturity and decide if they wanna stick together at least lol. and with stendy, i'd stay first love should be a first love and that's it (i was talking with pom about that!!), making it endgame after such a long time of seeing that stan barely cares makes me feel weird. people being super weird about creek or style to the degree of calling themselves purists and DNI'ing whoever ships other things threw me off immensely as well. i'm sorry. this is just a me thing probably.

3- this is very similar, but i like to see different dynamics and how they play out!! after almost 30 years of existing, south park fan content often falls in the same common places. nothing wrong with that of course!! but i wanna see things playing out in ways i don't see often.

4- this is just a pet peeve of mine and it's not as common nowadays but why are we giving older designs of characters a big version of their childhood outfits. i don't know a single person who still wears or even keeps the winter hat they wore as a kid. the characters should be recognizable through their outfits!! there's so many possibilities, we should make it fun you know!!

edit: i believe it’s important to add that i really enjoy not only being a contrarian and venting about not liking these things, but i also wanted to make this sort of essay about loneliness experienced in different ways and how it affects your personal relationships. for stan it’s realizing when depression takes over and you’re missing out on everything your loved ones are doing— the world is moving, time is passing and you’ve been in bed the whole time. for everyone else? well, we’ll see.

i started out just drawing these guys, but i felt like making a full story would be more compelling. i love doujinshi and fancomics and i believe that we should always question the quality of the content we consume- and if we don't like it we should just make our own interpretations and stories. that's the beauty of fan content!! reflection and creation, not just mindless consumption. canon is not a guarantee that things are good!! so many things don't even make it to the final cut, the original content gets digested by networks and companies and sponsors and political interests before we even get to see it!! making a comic is rough (and i've spent three years of my life creating this material about characters i don't even own legally), but a start is a start and well. i like this, i've always liked graphic novels and i always wanted to make one. i kind of owed it to myself too.

in conclusion, i just wanted to make something that i found fun and new and i could share with my south park fandom friends after my autism diagnosis (it was rough, but i was medically cringe and thus i felt very justified to be obsessed with my childhood special interest)!! i'm very lucky to be able to complement and elaborate on some of my choices with theory about art and media analysis that i get at uni, and i'm even luckier that so many people have taken a liking to it as well!!

so thank you for enjoying my comic so far <3 and thank you for showing interest in it. thank you so much!!

[momo-minomo]

Fic Fairy Friday: Batfam Meets The Justice League

@graziegraziella asked me to do fic fairy friday where the Batfam meets the Justice league for the first time. Excellent idea! So here you go, I actually have enough of these already bookmarked to do a second part sometime lol. Sorry for missing the last few fridays, btw, I'm dealing with some stuff and also working on my novel.

Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans. I know things are really hard and scary right now but please hold strong and keep resisting. We'll get through this together.

For more fic rec lists please check out The Fic Fairy Friday Masterpost

Monolith by CharlesWaterloo

Summary:

Diana realised with a jolt that none of them had actually asked him how he knew Batman. And she was just as curious as the rest of them about the “we”. It implied Batman worked with more people. ‘How did you come to know Batman? Does he have any other friends?’ His mouth fell open, and he snorted, which evolved into full-out laughter. ‘I’m sorry. Oh my god - friends?’ Diana felt a little hurt on Batman’s behalf. ‘Are you not his friend?' He shook his head. ‘Did B really not say anything? I’m hurt. No, I’m not his friend. I’m his son.’ (An AU where the Justice League haven't met any of Bruce's kids.)

Momo's Notes: This is the first fic I think of when I think of this trope! It's technically unfinished but each chapter is essentially a one-shot and this fic covers the JL learning Bruce has kids and meeting all of them so I think it's finished enough to include. I love the WFA vibes on this one, btw! Also bonus points for busybody!Diana. That woman is DETERMINED to get all the hot goss.

To Rescue a Bat by Blueseabird2

Summary:

Batman gets into a situation during an alien invasion and could use a rescue. Unfortunately, Dick and Jason don't think the Justice League is up for the task. At all. So Dick lets the League know that he will be handling the situation and to expect Batman back by the end of the night. He even promises that he won't be going alone. No one should stand in the way of a Batfamily rescue, even if the Justice League doesn't know there's a Batfamily at all.

Momo's Notes: I love this fic. It's mostly in Jason's pov with a short foray into Dick's later on. The brotherhood and loyalty between Jason and Dick in this one is just chef's kiss. The Batfam are such badasses here. Bonus points for all the Robins still having their own teams but still having no one the wiser that they're in any way related to Batman lol.

Secret Visitors (on the Watchtower) by TheWitchBoy

Summary:

The Watchtower was the same as it always was. With an exception. A kid. Clark couldn’t quite wrap his head around that. A kid. In front of him. On the Watchtower. How did a kid even get on the Watchtower? How had no one noticed? 

Momo's Notes: This one is short but has the rare quality of being a 'Batfam meets the JL' set during Tim's initial Robin run, when he was still just the neighbor and before Jason came back. Dick is aged down a bit, making him 19 instead of the 22 he was in canon. Bonus points for mentioning Tim's perpetual bedhead between the ages of 13-15 lol. I love that Clark takes one look at 19-year-old Nightwing and is basically like "That's a baby. Why is a baby on the Watchtower?!"

Security Updates by Jazz020

Summary:

Hal, Clark, and Barry find an unexpected guest playing with the watchtowers security.

Vacation at the Watchtower by Jazz020

Summary:

A continuation of Security Updates It may have been a mistake to let Tim stay at the Watchtower while he heals from his injury but the kid really needed to get away from his brothers. “Wait, what if I go to the Watchtower with you.” “I don't think-” “It’ll be great. I'll even help out if you need me to. I'll be the best unpaid intern the Justice League has ever had.”

Momo's Notes: This two-parter is cute and WFA coded. Tim is delightfully sassy and hypercompetent gremlin, Bruce is honestly a good dad that in no way can control his flock of birds, and the JL are in no way ready for any of this lol.

pin the blame by ashenice

Summary:

“So, you're the one who named the Batmobile,” Nightwing opened his mouth, then closed it. “Who told you I named the Batmobile?” “Uh, Batman?” A grin split out on Nightwing's face. He leaned in. “I’ll tell you a secret,” he said conspiratorially, “B lied to your face,” “What?” “I named the Batcomputer and the Batarangs,” he nodded towards where Batman was currently speaking to Superman. “The car? That’s all his doing,” “Oh my god,” Barry whispered. (Barry Allen goes on a quest to figure out who named the Batmobile. There isn't a single Bat who will give him a straight answer)

Momo's Notes: This fic is a lot of fun lol. Barry had no idea that Batman had a family. Apparently, most of the Justice League DID this know this but they didn't see fit to share that fact with him, Hal, or Shazam. Finding out BATMAN of all people had kids leads him down a rabbit hole trying to figure out who named the Batmobile but in true Wayne fashion the entire family takes the opportunity to fuck with him.

Undercover by InvalidStuff

Summary:

Jason is working undercover when he gets kidnapped by the Justice League. Batman is off-world which leaves his siblings scrambling to find him. While he has to figure out how to not get sent to Arkham and keep the existence of the batfamily a secret from the league. Or, Jason annoys the league and learns he's important, Dick being the aggressively protective older brother that he is, Tim being a casual badass, and Damian living for violence.

Momo's Notes: Poor Jason is having a TERRIBLE day in this one. Everything that can go wrong, does. Now he's being held prisoner by the Justice League who have no idea he's Batman's kid, several of them aren't acting like themselves, he's injured, Batman isn't available, and his siblings are ready to fight god barehanded if it means getting their brother back.

NA NA NA NA Batdad! by nightwalker

Summary:

The irony of Batman having that coffee mug was amusing. The thought of Brucie Himbo Trainwreck Wayne owning it was hysterical. Ollie took a quick swallow of coffee to push back a laugh. “I like the coffee mug. A friend of mine has the same one.”

Momo's Notes: Short and wholesome. Green Arrow is one of the first to discover not only Batman's identity but that he's a damn good dad, too.

little brothers and chilli dogs by bleesknees

Summary:

Tim gets gravely injured while on a mission. Luckily, wanted criminal, murderer, and mob boss Red Hood is there to save him, but due to an unfortunate mishap involving copious amounts of glitter, the Batcave’s medical stores have been destroyed. Instead, the closest emergency supplies are one Zeta away—in the Justice League’s Watchtower.

Momo's Notes: No one knows who Batman or the other Gotham vigilantes are, only that Batman, Nightwing, and (Red) Robin work together. So they are understandably alarmed when wanted criminal Red Hood somehow breaks into the Watchtower with a profusely bleeding Red Robin in his arms. This is one of the rare 'Batman conceals his identity even from the JL' fics that have him continue to be very careful about who finds out rather than just revealing it to everyone at once.

The Waynes, Damsels in Distress by hitthedeck

Summary:

Roses are red, violets are blue, Bruce Wayne and his kids get kidnapped every other week. Some things are just universal, undeniable facts of life. Or, in which Bruce Wayne is still Batman and his kids are still Robins, but they keep letting themselves get kidnapped because they think it's funny.

Momo's Notes: I love this fic, it's so unhinged. The JL and some of the Titans meet the Waynes in their vapid public personas with no idea that they're also the badass heroes they've known and respected for years. The Waynes take full advantage of this opportunity to be as annoying as humanly possible. I also recommend reading the rest of the series since it has more unhinged shenanigans such as Jason "haunting" the watchtower and Tim fighting a magical invasion with the power of self-destruction. It's so much fun.

[cripplecharacters]

I know we (disabled people) aren't a monolith and all that, we'll all have different opinions on what is and is not offensive, but I want to ask if you can explain your opinion on cosplaying a disabled character a little more, because I don't really understand how portraying a character accurately, disabilities included within reason, would be offensive. I could see the use of an aid that other people could be actually making use of being harmful, and I can see not treating the disability in a respectful manner by making a joke of them being harmful, but as far as the inclusion of scar to cosplay a canonically scarred character goes, I feel like excluding them seems more offensive to me, it feels like erasure of the character's disability. If for example someone cosplayed a character I made that I was using to portray my own disabilities, and the cosplayer didn't include those disabilities when they could do so, I'd find that really insulting and hurtful. I guess it feels like too nuanced of a topic for a blanket This Is Good or This Is Bad answer if that makes sense? Sorry if this comes across as antagonistic or hostile, I'm not trying to pick a fight, I just want to understand your perspective.

Hey, I'm fully aware that there are a lot of opinions going either way (from "literally everything is fine" to "abled people shouldn't cosplay disabled characters at all no matter what"). I did a longer reply about the same thing in this ask that maybe will explain some of it better. There are also opinions of other mods on this in our #cripping up tag.

I don't consider not including a character's disability in cosplay as erasure, since to me it's just dressing up as a character with your own body and all. I think everyone should be able to cosplay everyone regardless of what their "factory settings" are, just don't pretend to be a minority that you aren't a part of in your normal life. I see pretending to have a disability for "character accuracy" as more offensive, your canvas for cosplay is yourself and if you don't have that disability then you just don't and that's completely fine. For the sake of not being accidentally insensitive I won't be making comparisons to other kinds of "pretending to be a minority for cosplay", especially since most other examples would be much worse anyway. To me, this whole practice is just... unnecessary. Work with what you have the same way disabled cosplayers shouldn't cover their disabilities when cosplaying abled characters.

I see your example of a potential cosplayer not including the disability in a character that you have made. I make disabled characters too, a lot of them even (probably granted for a mod on this blog). Some of them share my disabilities. And I think that we just have fundamentally different opinions because I'd vastly prefer for someone without my disability to just omit it rather than pretend parts of their face don't move or aren't symmetric. It'd feel like mockery to me, I don't want anyone to pretend to have a facial difference for any reason. If someone tried to dress up as literally me, I'd have the same opinion - do the clothes and goatee, but leave my gait disorder and half-moving mouth out of this. Obviously these things are part of my identity to an extent, and they make me who I am, but pretending to have them to imitate me feels more akin to bullying than authenticity. To be clear I get why you have that opinion, I just feel completely differently about it. And I don't think either of us is wrong or not wrong, it's just a different view of the same thing.

At the end of the day though I don't really care about how people cosplay their blorbos if all they do is dress up and take some photos like most cosplayers do. I just answer questions when directly asked rather than go out of my way to talk about this since in comparison to a lot of other issues this doesn't have big enough of an impact on me to be too bothered by it (if I had to do a list of ableist things I'm annoyed by I can't imagine a world where cosplay would make the list). I'm guessing that most askers don't know any handy person with an FD they can ask that so they come here, and I try to be helpful to the best of my ability.

I think the smartest thing a person can do is read a few opinions of different people and make a decision for themself. There is no one convenient consensus to follow (that I know of?), so it is what it is. If there is a potential cosplayer who is reading this ask and thinks that the asker's opinion makes more sense to them, then that's what they should probably do. The only thing I insist on is that they have fun cosplaying (rather than stressing over what person on the internet is right) because otherwise what's the point...

What I do consider important personally is the original thing I brought up, which is how abled people use facial difference as a costume in order to scare or disgust others. That is insensitive, offensive, and always in poor taste, it spreads misinformation about visibly disabled people and creates a negative image about a whole group of people, a lot of whom dread this time of the year (as mentioned in the article). Talking about this is in my opinion way more important than any Comic Con cosplay of a fictional character will ever be or has ever been, which probably influences my opinion on cosplay. When I think "fake facial differences", I'm reminded of horror villains with make-up that tries and fails to imitate how visibly disabled people look like. I associate fake scars and fake burns and fake skull shapes with this problem strongly, and as you can guess I don't like it at all. I find the authenticity argument hard to believe for myself when what is usually originally portrayed is an abomination of VFX designed to make us look scary; for most of these characters there is nothing good coming out of their "FD representation" anyway. If Freddy Krueger magically started to be shown as abled I'd be glad, not mad that the character who genuinely horribly affected how people from my community are seen is no longer doing that.

This might be a radical take, but most existing characters with facial differences literally shouldn't have them. The way they are portrayed shapes how people are seen for the worse and if I had a "disability erasure" button for all the Scars and Voldemorts out there I'd make them as abled as possible.

Is this how all people with facial differences feel? I don't think I can go and ask each of them but definitely no, it's just the opinion of A Guy on the Internet (many such cases!) and rather than anything else I just want to share my view on stuff, so askers can hopefully make a more informed decision - whether that's writing, drawing, cosplay, etc. If someone reads my take and decides that they want to do the opposite, at least they have a bit of context on how some people might feel about it, and I think that's still valuable.

This is my opinion on this and I hope this clears it up more,

mod Sasza

[allwormdiet]

Extermination 8.3

Oh fucking boy

This isn't a really revelatory passage, it's just like. Even more reinforcement that Leviathan is a fucking beast. More dead, more downed.

Taylor the fact that you even bothered to show up is above and beyond what should ever be asked of you, you are fifteen for fuck's sake, staking your life against the defeat of a hateful animate Splash Mountain is not your fucking purview! You should be playing Minecraft or something!

"Sorry I wasn't traumatized in a way that lets me save your life" Hello??

I can't imagine Taylor gets to feel like a part of most communities, honestly. Also I'm not sure that the cape community is any kind of monolith, so whether she "fits in" with them all is kind of moot.

Byyyye, Iron Falcon.

That's such a funny thing to ask somebody, honestly.

And then this is a crazy hardcore thing to ask somebody. This arc does a lot to establish that Skitter is just straight up on another level when it comes to comfort on the battlefield compared to even veteran capes, girl will nearly get pulped by Neptune's fucking wrath and then wonder why other people died while she's still conscious

Oh, Taylor. I'm so sorry, he only gets worse the more layers you get into him.

Also. Okay so Gregor the Snail felt like a pretty sympathetic perspective on how fatphobia stings people, but the life and death of Chubster in the realm of this story... kinda sucks. Like oh no, he's too heavy for Skitter to save him, have to leave him to drown I guess. I'm not saying it's an impossible circumstance, it just feels crass to have it in.

Hey Flechette, keep up the good work girl

The thing I keep coming back to with the Endbringers is that. Okay. These things have been causing horrific damage, mass death, and world-changing devastation for decades, and they've never been killed, and only one cape has ever meaningfully made the things fuck off in the history of ever. They are considered to be the most likely cause of extinction for humanity. Every time it seems like they're winning, even in the short-term, it's just the setup for another knockdown. It's giving them hope just so the despair hits deeper. What are the odds that's on purpose? What are the odds that everything the Endbringers suffer except Scion is just play-acting for them? Selling the capes' moves like it's a wrestling match, even as they don't feel a goddamn thing.

What if it's all just a sick game to an alien god?

This is so cool and so, so fucking dire.

God that's dark

Sacrifice play. Some desperate attempt to redeem himself in the public view maybe? A genuine belief that he can make this stick? I dunno. It doesn't matter, unfortunately.

What a way to sell the fucking outrageous devastation that this monster unleashes in the span of. What, an hour? Less?

Also hey what good is all the missiles and lasers and forcefields if Leviathan is just gonna pick the whole PHQ up and smash it onto the shoreline

So many goddamn downed, it's crazy. And y'know, knowing the rest of the arc we know Tattletale's still standing but of course Skitter is fucked up over losing Tattletale, that's the last person she's got who's willing to extend a hand towards her.

Most powers are dead useless here let's be real

Hey, good job Eidolon

Fucking brave of y'all to be shooting Bakuda bombs anywhere in the same ZIP code as someone you care about, but also god it would be so cool if this had actually worked. Just fucking lock Leviathan down in time out for a hundred years or so, buy that much time? Shame it fails.

Well. I'm not gonna miss the fucking Nazis, but rip in peace Dauntless, we hardly knew ye.

Triumvirate member tagged out. Alexandria was already down for the count, wasn't she? Or she at least stopped showing up at some point, so now it's just Eidolon repping the Big Three

although I guess if you asked Eidolon he'd call it "just Big Me"

First dead kid out of the lot, I think, if we don't count Falcon dying off the battlefield. Sorry, Shielder. I think Leviathan knew you were strong enough to keep being a problem. Gotta be fucking awful for Laserdream though, watching your brother die violently in front of you is. I actually can't imagine, thank fuck.

And then Sundancer down but not out. Honestly if anyone was gonna have decent odds of doing damage I'd have given it to The Fucking Sun, but that doesn't do much for defense does it.

Fucking outrageously brutal, god.

Man. I didn't even think about the fact that this thing is silent the entire time. No Godzilla roars or shit the entire time, nothing except for the rush of water.

Clockblocker keeps coming in clutch to save the day against citywide threats... Someone please for the love of god stop putting these children in the line of fire.

Also interesting that Taylor might be the only one here whose first response is to get him out of the water, for all that he's been her enemy.

Clever.

Taylor can be really harshly judgmental at times but I'm gonna be real I'm with her on this one, Trickster what the actual fuck is your problem. Like good job I guess but what the hell.

Y'know, the fucked up thing is that Armsmaster actually isn't wrong here, and his plan could've worked if he was, uhh. Genuine about it.

Does everybody's ability to give a speech go down the fucking toilet when an Endbringer is within half a mile of them? Is that what it is?

Current Thoughts

Wildbow really fucking knows how to put a battle together. Our POV character isn't actually fighting through 95% of this entire arc (and maybe shouldn't have been fighting in that 5% but we'll get there) but you feel just totally surrounded by the death and devastation that's raining down on all sides.

Unfortunately, I think it's about time for Armsmaster's big reveal on how to lose an arm and a shitload of credibility in record timing.

[ca-suffit]

im sorry your takes are generally pretty great and i appreciate the space you make in fandom but i find the dismissal around lestat's queerness to be diminishing.

louis is a fantastic gay character and u r right about how he represents his queerness which is fabulously. he is mother he is fashion he is wife, a lot, and lestat is a lot more masc in aspects of their dynamic. louis also struggles with it, had internalized homophobia, and his relationship to his sexuality is fraught. now you can have that complexity and still be a "gay icon" sure but what i see here is a gay man existing. not every gay man existing has to be ~iconic~. louis is working on himself.

lestat is a different person and is going out there to make a mark on culture actively, regardless of why. he's not putting on a dress for five seconds (which btw was still pretty impactful in context but ok), he is being meaningfully gnc and making art. this is what queer culture is. it's frustrating to see this element diminished like it's just a meme or a bunch of people being thirsty.

im all for critiquing fandom being weirdos about it but i think the showrunners are doing something spectacular and pretending like fans are making lestat into something he is not just isn't the vibe.

reading this made me realize that I left out a sentence in this ask, so it did come off differently than I intended. I'd meant to say there's already been a lot of exploration of characters / ppl like lestat, but there's never been a character like louis before. I wasn't rly ever talking about lestat's queerness itself, I was talking about how he's prioritized bcuz he's white.

if u personally identity with him in this then that's ur right to, obviously. no group is a monolith and I was never trying to say one way is more "right" than the other. I rly do apologize if it came across like that, cuz I can see why it did.

"he's not putting on a dress for five seconds (which btw was still pretty impactful in context but ok)"

I don't rly know what u mean here bcuz within the show, nobody comments on the dress. ppl react to the baby but everything we know of the dress otherwise was only revealed by carol cutshall bts. I don't know what impact ur meaning here. to the tv audience, sure, but the NOLA audience?? or is it the fact he designed it in the first place.

tbh the thing I most noticed was that once again a white, european immigrant got to be center stage in an event that louis, as a black, louisiana native, isn't (like the card game lestat already had a place at more favored than louis earlier in S1). he also was able to wear that dress in public without public scorn (being european prbly helped here too, he's "other'd" but not the same way as louis is "other'd" for being black), which is something louis could never have done and actually survived at all. it's not that lestat doesn't experience homophobia otherwise, but he's still got a lot more room to confront it than louis, claudia, or armand would have, as ppl who would be confronting homophobia *and* racism with no access to white privilege (claudia literally dies in the same hour we see lestat confront a homophobe otherwise on his and louis' behalf and "win").

idk what they're going to explore for S3 yet, but what we've seen so far is....not that deep tbh. it's not even especially "queer." we're aware he is so we know it is, but straight men have worn makeup and flashy outfits and done homoerotic shit as musicians before too. very often. nothing we've seen from lestat so far has been pushing any boundary as a queer artist or making any kind of statement. I'm not trying to sound like a total bitch here, but a lot of what ur saying is pushing this white fandom agenda of the "importance" of so much that any white, queer character does that....just isn't. lestat's image and sound is taking a lot from other ppl in real music history who *were* doing groundbreaking things at the time, straight or not, but what he's doing is just wearing it as a costume rn. his lyrics even say "I'm an actor / in my makeup." like I said, S3 in full will bring more to the table, obviously, but for what we've seen so far....this hasn't said anything in any objective way that's "deep." u can still like it and identity with it, but idk how u'd argue that it's doing anything tbh. ur welcome to do it tho, I'm not trying to shut down the conversation here. I'm just giving my perspective. I *do* actually think this is stuff we should talk about exactly *bcuz* fandom rides so hard for it all the time. it should be explored why that is, what's the logic behind it. I rly am interested.

edit: wanted to add too that p much everyone we see in this show is queer and creative so literally why is nobody ever saying all this about louis' photography, claudia's acting and interest in fashion (or her general observations on the world thru so many diaries that are referenced in multiple ways as she's not around anymore to speak otherwise), armand's theatre work, madeleine's dressmaking. that's usually why ppl comment on lestat, bcuz he's the most noticed and praised but he's literally not the only one doing it at all.

[rahleeyah]

Confession, fans say they want the mess. They love angry OB, they want the chaos and the anger. They want to see that she's human. But most fans are lying to themselves. The moment Olivia makes a mistake or shows her human side the fandom turns against her. Take the Burton storyline. That was one of the most human, most vulnerable we've seen her in a long time. Yes she made mistakes but it all felt so REAL. We can judge her but still feel empathy. Yet it's like the empathy evaporated and all that remains is the judgment.

I don't want to be too hard on "most people" or "most fans", I don't want to just co-sign sweeping generalizations. Social media makes us mistake "loudest" for "most" and can make it difficult to really understand what anyone, let alone a whole group thinks about something.

Sometimes the people asking for mess and the people complaining about it are different people. Are there times when that's not true, when one person contradicts themselves? Sure. But people have different definitions of mess, also. "I want to see Olivia sleep around" doesn't necessarily mean "I want to see her fuck the guy who groomed her". And it's not a contradiction to want a but not b in that scenario. And a lot of the dislike for it that I have seen isn't people judging Olivia - don't recall ever hearing anyone say Olivia was stupid or a slut or anything like that for sleeping with Burton. Judgement in my experience has been reserved for the men who wrote her sleeping with her groomer (and then wrote that a 20 something sleeping with a 16 year old wasn't really rape and she forgives him) which. I mean that's another conversation.

I personally love 500, it's in my top ten favorite episodes. Hate what they did when they brought him back, but 500 I love. It's a divisive episode bc people bring their own perspectives and fandom cannot be expected to move as a monolith, all liking and disliking the same things. We are gonna see a variety of reactions.

Which is why it's important, I think, that if we routinely see stuff we disagree with, to the point it upsets us, we use that block/unfollow button and cultivate a quieter experience. Not everything is for everybody and there's gonna be people who don't engage with the source material the way we do, or the way we want to, and that doesn't make those people wrong it just means that corner of fandom isn't for us, and that's fine. People who hate 500 and get sick at the mention of Burton probably would not have a fun time listening to me talk about 500 anymore than I would have a fun time listening to them complain about it, and that is not a fight one of us has to win. We can each do our own thing. Fandom is big enough for that.

Sorry I haven't had my coffee yet I'm rambling the point is - yeah, a lot of people don't like it, but that is what it is. I agree that 500 is deeply compelling and important to Olivia's arc and I love it, so you're not alone in that.

[gayaest]

Hey! I've been loving your art for too long, I think what you're doing for the disabled community it's lovely, it's awesome, I'm so sorry that there are people giving you hate comments, keep doing what you do, keep including people, maybe I don't necessarily have the same diagnosis as your characters, as I have Tourette's and Autism only in regards of that, but... I think I can talk for many of us, that your art makes us really happy, I love seeing people go like ''Omg, this character is just like me!'' it makes my heart warm, thank you, for everything, seriously, I love representation, and you've done an amazing job on it.

Disabled people exist, we're everywhere, even if people don't notice it sometimes, even if people do realize sometimes and don't care, we are people, we are your friends, family, partners, we are everywhere, and we have the right to exist. <3

Thank you, It’s really nice and sweet to hear that. Sometimes it feels like I get consumed by hate comments, because due to the nature of what I post it is seen as “controversial” inherently, for being disabled people, or fat people, or people or color. It’s not fair, but that’s exactly what life is for me and people like me (my followers).

It’s okay not to share my diagnosis, I don’t expect it! (Though, I am autistic as well!) The disabled community is not a monolith, and that’s how I’ve gotten my art to the point it’s at! By listening to stories that aren’t my own.

Connection is key to community, and so is Listening. I always do my best with both (even if it means asking for repeats and research on my own when asked). It takes a lot of hard work, and my life is often consumed by researching disorders and understanding disabilities, but I wouldn’t have it any other way, because it has made me a understanding attentive person that tries to make everyone feel included somehow.

Thank you again, this is so sweet to hear. I appreciate it very much.

[intheholler]

Hi, sorry if this is a weird message but I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your blog.

I've never been to the appalachia region but I was born in Mississippi and only lived there for like 3 years before we moved. My mom was a travel nurse so we moved every year or two and I really loved living like that and being able to live in tons of different places but part of me is really upset that I never really belonged to a specific place.

When I was younger, I was thankful for not growing up in the south. I always heard other people talk about it, how it was nothing but inbred hillbillies and how everyone talked in a weird drawl and I was glad I never picked up the accent.

But now I'm so, so upset about it. I have a very slight accent sometimes and say y'all and ain't a lot but it's definitely not recognizable as a southern accent.

I want to sound like that, but it feels wrong to try and talk with that accent now, because my family doesn't sound like that and I don't live in the south anymore. Even though I was born there, it still feels like I'm not from there, you know? Like I would be stealing something that's not mine.

It just sucks. Especially when I hear people constantly talk shit about the south and how everyone there is stupid and ugly and racist and evil and it's like, ''Oh. Maybe if I lived there a few more years they would hate me like that too."

A lot of time I see people talking about how much it sucks to grow up in a certain culture, but I never see people talk about how much it sucks to grow up without a specific culture(s).

The worst thing is when people ask where I'm from or where I grew up, and I don't know what I'm supposed to say.

So thank you for your blog. I know the south and appalachia are different, with different cultures and climates and people, but it still makes me feel like I can experience something I never got to.

hi there. this is not weird at ALL.

its a topic very near to my heart really. thanks so much for sharing your story not only because it's yours and i want to know it, but because it resonates with me SO hard, and i don't really talk to anyone who was constantly on the move as a kid and questions their identity because of it.

long post below, as is usually the case with me and this subject.

first i wanna say: i agree that the deep south and appalachia are certainly unique from one another, but to me, they share more similarities than they do differences. your story only cements that in my mind.

we have similar politics, are embarrassed by similar stereotypes, have shameful collective histories. we have similar flavors of self-work and unlearning to do. even the accents overlap.

we also know the same struggle of trying to be louder than our region, how it feels to have our individual voices swallowed up by people who don't want to hear it because they've already decided what they think about us as if we are some monolith.

what i mean is you definitely belong in this community, and i'm so glad you are here!

now for the emotional bits: i hate making these sorts of asks about me, but i sometimes feel at a loss as how else to communicate my empathy in this specific situation.

i just hope my experience can extend a sense of solidarity and understanding to how you're feeling, as mine mirrors your own very closely. i can seriously like feel the pain radiating off of this ask and i just want you to feel seen and heard.

"The worst thing is when people ask where I'm from or where I grew up, and I don't know what I'm supposed to say."

this kicked me in the stomach, because same. it's why being "from appalachia" is so integral to my identity. i'm not from a town or even a state. all i have is the region.

i've talked about this before on here, but my dad was a contractor, and we moved every year or two as well. the longest i stayed in one town was three years, and it happened only once.

i agree that moving around a lot was good in some ways, but, like you, it left me without a sense of belonging.

looking back as an adult, i realize how badly all of that moving fucked me up. i don't have a hometown in the traditional sense. i'm not "from" anywhere.

a lot of my childhood belongings i no longer have because everything seemed to get lost in the moves. i feel like i am scattered across a region, and i am nowhere.

its so bad that, as silly as it is, i get irrationally upset at something as innocent as when i am with someone who has lived in a place most of their life, and they can easily give directions there because they know the place so well. i can't do that with anywhere and so i feel bitter.

i myself moved around consistently in appalachia/the south, though, so i still grew up in the area, as generally as one could. so i also spent most of my late childhood and preteen yearsgetting rid of the accent. i didn't want to sound "stupid" or be lumped in with the racists and the stereotypes of the region.

i thought it made me better than other kids who spoke with the accent, because back then, i hadn't started the self-work i have since undergone and ripped all that hateful internalized bullshit up.

i regret it every day now that i'm learning to love where i'm from--appalachia and the south as a region. i regret ever buying into what i was told about myself and getting rid of all markers of it.

i get it, anon. i really do and i love you and i'm sorry.

THIS IS ALL TO SAY VERY VERY LOUDLY:

you. are. from. there.

you were born in the south. you was raised by a presumably southern family. even if you wasn't, they had to take pieces of mississippi with them. culture is not a static thing--it goes where you go.

you can't steal what's already yours. the accent is yours to use. it feels awkward in your mouth when you try to get it back but that's just because it needs to get comfortable in there again. it doesn't mean you're faking or stealing. it means you are reconnecting, and reunions can sometimes be a little awkward.

don't hold yourself up to rigid standards or fall victim to any gatekeeping, outward or inward. only you get to define who you are, and it seems like you know who that is supposed to be.

i hope you can start to feel a little more at home in your identity. i know what a special hell it is. thank you so so much for being here <3333

[azelmaandeponine]

:(( I am sorry you have had a bad experience with the b!llford shippers you've met, but as someone actively involved around the communities on Twitter and tumblr, I can guarantee you that most of the resurgent Ford haters are very much not participants of shipping this, and most shippers of this don't think Ford deserves it or that he's bad? They love Ford and see him as a good person who went through terrible things he didn't deserve and he's a victim. I genuinely don't know how you got the impression that the ford haters and bf people were somehow the same, it feels like you've seen a different fandom than I have haha.

The Ford hate resurgence is a repeat of what happened a decade ago as a consequence of the shows populariry, he was the common punching bag back then (and mabel) and billford was barely a blip, most haters definitely were not shippers then and I really feel that now in the fandom resurgence we are just seeing more of that same exact kind of Ford hate from people who want to treat him like the show's villain and refuse to be sympathetic and not-ableist towards him, and we are only seeing more of these people because the show is popular again like before

Legit I see the bf shippers on twitter *actively defend* Ford against the dumb haters talking nonsense, and the random people trying to act like Ford forced fidds to abuse the menory gun (???). there are so many lovingly crafted works related to bf or coming from bf shippers that really shine a spotlight and love on Ford for the great guy and character he is.

Shit there's been a bunch Ford antis that hate him because they think he abused fiddleford somehow which is completely untrue and insane?? and that has nothing to do with bf, these people are out of their mind in ways I cannot begin to comprehend fr

I know there's a million bf shippers which means a lot are going to suck and they can be obnoxious and don't always treat the topic of abuse as they should, and this community does still have weird biases about Ford that it refuses to reflect on while it kisses Stan's boots instead, but from the bottom of my heart, I think the blame here is being directed to the wrong place :( you can hate the ship and despite the people who ship it, I completely don't blame you for that at all, but the Ford hate resurgence are really not this same group all in all and I think that's an important distinction.

It doesn't match my experience at all and I loathe Ford antis with all my heart, he deserves better and I see so many bf people in the fandom today giving him that understanding and sympathetic spotlight that not as many people wanted to give him a decade ago. I wish you the best and I'm sorry for typing a huge wall in your inbox, and I'm sorry for the negative experiences you've had. I hope it gets better and I hope more people will continue to see Ford for who he actually is and not the fake guy they think he is that they want to hate

In fairness, I probably should have been clearer that it's more a certain sect of Bill/Ford that act like that, rather than the shippers as a whole.

I think it also depends on who you're interacting with. Obviously not all Bill/Ford shippers are going to demonize Ford, because a group of people who like the same thing are not a monolith.

The sect of shippers that demonize Ford is more prevalent on TikTok, I think, and some of them are on here as well.

I've never had a twitter, so I have no idea what the Gravity Falls fandom is like there.

I was present for the Ford hate a decade or so ago, and I was hoping it would stay died down, but alas. From what I saw, Ford hate exploded again, in tandem with Bill/Ford's popularity. And in some areas of the fandom, there was overlap between the two. That's where the conflation comes from.

I think part of it is that some Bill/Ford shippers don't want to admit how abusive the ship is, so they try to come up with some reason to "justify" it (this ironically usually makes them look worse). Additionally, you don't actually have to "justify" your ships. People are gonna ship what they want.

I'm actually of the opinion that themes like abuse and trauma deserve exploration, so it's really how some shippers treat the abuse present in Bill and Ford's canon relationship that annoys me.

That said, I'm not gonna hate someone for what they ship alone. I am an adult and do have bigger concerns than what fictional ship other people like. I have the tag blacklisted, and I probably won't interact with Bill/Ford shippers much.

This is getting long. Um--sorry you guys saw the post, I did do my best to keep it out of the tag.

[unofficialadamtaurus]

Hi, POC here! If you don't mind, I would like to give my point of view to the anon that asked "what if Adam was actually POC". However: this is MY opinion so I can have a different view from other POC. Ask many POC if you're really interested in the topic.

First of all what many fans seem to 'coincidentally' forget when it comes to Adam, is that some POC are light-skinned and even white-passing. Nothing in Adam says he's white, and nothing in Adam says he's not white. The name is disorienting, because fans say Blake is not white (considering her mother would be Asian), but she still has an English name. We know nothing of Adam's parents, so he could be Asian or Latino. Sun is Chinese and has blond hair and blue eyes, so why not?

Second of all, if he was 'racially-coded' in a more specific way, yes there would be more fans complaining about how it would be perpetuating the stereotype of "black man angry, black man as ex-slave". Funnily enough, I think it would dilute *most* of the hate. His identity would be clearer and the non-intentional, but very clear racism of CRWBY would be evident (to clarify: again I'm not saying CRWBY is racist on purpose. I'm saying they come from a very privileged place where they haven't had to think about these things, and thus they're ignorant).

I can't believe I have to say this, but any ambiguity in skin color when it comes to villains turns against them. Adam was a branded ex-slave with every right to be angry, but he was deemed a 'white savior' (this makes no sense, he would be a white savior if he was a human and NOT FUCKING BRANDED, the white savior is NOT THE SAME FUCKING RACE AS THE RACE HE'S TRYING TO SAVE) and bigoted and racist (well, it would be hard to forgive the people who enslaved you and branded your FACE like you were cattle...). Similarly, Ironwood was painted as a white genocidal dictator, when he's voiced by a half-Asian VA who, correct me if my goldfish memory doesn't serve me well, at some point at least *insinuated* James wasn't white. Ironwood fans know this topic better and I'm not Asian, so if I were you, I would ask them.

In summation: don't be racist like RWBY fans are. Have in mind that POC arent a monolith and that, unfortunately, any defense of "but there were POC working on this" STILL has a ground for racism as many times we POC are racist against ourselves. And remember intersectionality. Even if Adam was, in every universe, white or white-passing, he was still a minority in canon and fucking enslaved.

Sorry for the long answer and have a beautiful day

Fair points.

I want to add to the discussion that there’s often a quickness to the dismissals of Adam’s canonical history. Everyone’s got a different point at which they draw the line of acceptable violence based on historical suffering, of course, but it feels like distaste for him plays a disproportionate role in where that line gets drawn.

[sophieinwonderland]

the trend of former pro endos switching to calling themselves endo neutral pisses me off. like you obviously know we exist otherwise you wouldnt have been pro endo in the first place. but youre just calling yourself endo neutral now because youre scared to be associated with the "bad" pro endos. but why the hell arent you standing your ground, standing with your label, your community, and showing people not all pro endos are "bad"? instead you back out of the crossfire out of cowardice. if youre that scared of conflict, do not get into discourse! conflict is like 90% of discourse?! what are you gonna do when an endo neutral scandal happens and THAT label is "tainted"? will you finally leave syscourse? I would ask if you'd become anti endo, but that side already has a million scandals and problems with it im sure you wouldn't be able to touch with a 10 foot pole

ugh anyways. sorry this is angry and im using your askbox sort of as a confession box since you were talking about it. hope you dont mind more askbox bloat </3

It's no problem. I feel the same.

I'm not really sure how much of a trend it actually is. Even if there are a small handful of examples.

In my opinion though, if all it takes for you to decide to be "neutral" on a marginalized community is a few members doing things you don't like then you never really supported them to begin with.

I'm sorry, you want a community to basically be a monolith that all thinks the exact same way rather than a complex diverse group of people, and if they can't do that then they aren't worthy of your support anymore?

There is no community on Earth that is going to meet your standards. And we shouldn't be expected to.

Here is my theory on at least some of these former pro-endos.

I think that there are at least a few white knights out there who see endogenic systems more as just being a class of "victims" than actual human beings. And if we stray from the path of the perfect victim then it's decided that we no longer deserve help or support.

And it feels like for this group that they are super focused on being on the right side and, more importantly, being seen as being on the right side. That their actual motivations for leaving is just not wanting the association with anyone who could be less than perfect. To put it more bluntly, they are only allies insofar as it benefits their own image.

If your support of endogenic systems is conditional, and something that you plan on revoking the moment that you realize that they are actual people, I would rather not have it at all.

[peachjagiya]

I dont know if I will make sense, but even if I dont feel like im a "shipper" (just someone who really and genuinely finds the interactions and lore between two people suspicious), the way jkkrs treat their ship, the way they talk about it and misinterpret everything jkk do, just makes me doubt everything all together.

They are the breathing proof of things taken out of context, of ignoring debunking clues on purpose, of constructing narratives out of thin air. They are out there on twt, saying AYS episodes are finally proving jkk as a couple..? are we watching the same show? and if they are so beyond delulu, then, are we the same in the eyes of others? I am so disgusted by the forced sexual scenarios that im starting to hate shipping all together.

No that does make sense.

But shippers are just people. They have shipping in common but a thousand different approaches. A whole crowd at Harry Styles concert and only one person thinks it's ok to throw a water bottle. Doesn't mean all Harry Styles fans are crazy. It means one idiot threw a water bottle. You know?

Put it in the Taekook context: there's a difference between groups of TKKrs even. Casual or invested, aggressive or chilled out, argumentative or drama averse, fun or serious, thoughtful or unhinged, queer or heterosexual.

There's a difference between twitter TKKrs and tumblr TKKrs even. And then when you get on Tumblr, not every TKKr is part of a Tumblr hive mind! There are opinions and thoughts I hold that I'm sure other TKK blogs don't hold.

As a Tumblr TKKr, I note we don't tend to tear each other to shreds about differing opinions. We're maybe united in doing our best to not be dicks, I'm sure, and sometimes due to life experience, general age, attitude and outlook, we often align on things. But we're not a monolith. We don't all get in a big GC to decide our collective attitude. (AS FAR AS I KNOW?!)

There are definitely TKKrs acting the same as JMKKrs. And we're all side-eyeing them. But pointing at them as an indicator that all TKKrs must be like that is a slippery slope.

To let the shitty actions of one group under a category determine how you feel about a whole category feels like you'll just end up hating things more than you ever like things.

Find the group that you can chill with. But then you might not be invested enough to bother and that's ok too!

I hope you find a good balance that works and I'm sorry the scary side of shipping is making you feel this. 💜

[uncloseted]

how can I know if a boy likes me back? I can't see if there are signs because I like him and that makes me interpret everything as a good sign, and my friends only have my version, so they see things as I see them and it's really confusing :-/

btw I think he might kno I like him, I turn as red as a tomato and it's VERY obvious (´△｀)

(I tried explaining it the best I could)

I used to hate it when people would say this, so I'm sorry for passing the same advice on to you now, but there's really no way to know except for asking. There are a lot of people online who will tell you that there's one simple way to tell if someone is interested in you - their feet are angled toward you in a group conversation or their pupils dilate when they look at you or whatever - but I think the truth is that people aren't a monolith. Some people are naturally flirty with everyone, and others are totally expressionless, even with people they really like. The things that indicate that a flirty person is interested are totally different than the ones that indicate a shy person is interested, right? And that doesn't even take into account things like upbringing, culture, social expectations, and other complicated feelings a person might have about sex and relationships, all of which might change how a person acts around someone they're interested in. Plus, attraction itself is complicated. If they're interested, are they interested sexually? Platonically? Romantically? Some combination of those? Which combination? The kinds of "one simple tricks" that you might see online don't make room for that kind of nuance, and the person you're interested in might not know themselves.

That said, there are a few things that, in general, indicate that someone might like you. If they make frequent eye contact with you and hold it for longer than they hold it with other people, if you catch them looking at you a lot, if they lean in when talking to you or mirror your body language, if they find excuses to touch you, if they make excuses to spend time with you, if they frequently initiate conversations with you (more than they do with other people) and remember little details of what you've said, if they respond quickly and enthusiastically to your messages, if they compliment your looks, personality, or talents more often than they compliment other people's, if they playfully tease or banter with you more often than they do with other people, if they like all of your social media posts or immediately watch your stories after you post them, if their friends tease them when you're around, and if they try to make you laugh or act extra funny around you, those are signs that they might be interested. The absence of these things doesn't necessarily mean they're not interested - like I said, some people are super shy - and the fact that they do those things doesn't necessarily mean they're interested. But I think if they're acting differently than they do with other people, making more of an effort for you, or doing certain things more than they normally would, that's a pretty good sign.

Ultimately, though, the only way you can know for sure is to ask. I know that not knowing how someone feels about you is hard, and that asking them how they feel is a really vulnerable position to be in. But (fortunately or unfortunately), those are kind of your only options. Either you wait to see if something develops organically, or you let this boy know how you feel and see if he feels the same way. Regardless of which one you pick, it's not the end of the world. If you leave it, the worst that happens is nothing develops, and maybe you wonder if there could have been something there. If you tell him how you feel, the worst that happens is he doesn't feel the same way, and you can move on. Being rejected sucks, but it's not the end of the world, and I think the more comfortable we get with rejection, the easier it is to get the things we want - whether that's getting into a school or getting a job or getting a date or something else entirely. You can't get the things you want if you don't ask for them, so it may be worth trying and seeing what happens.