#looking at this I think there's definitely certain types of characters I'm attracted to

[ittyybittybaker]

P & U for the ask game <3 - @jtl-fics

Fandom Asks

ok so I spent WAY too long thinking about my answers, but here we GO

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas). : So I've been watching a lot of travel/train content on YouTube so all I can come up with right now is the foxes/the monsters? Are taking a semicolon train through the us and Neil's on the run and pretends to be a part of their group to escape his father's people??? Idk is this anything??? (I mostly wanna write andreil smoking/looking at the stars on the caboose while looking at scenic waterfalls/canyons/etc)

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites. :

I feel like picking Neil is kind of a cop-out when my blog title is literally 'number 1. Neil Josten Stan', and besides I've typed thousands of words at this point about why I love him, so here's 3 OTHER favorite characters of mine, in no particular order

1.) Percy Jackson - maybe my first blorbo??? He's selfless but also selfish in that he'd protect the people he cares about over the whole world. Like Neil, he's also a Certified Yapper and has been known to mouth of to people that he maybe shouldn't have. He thinks of himself as Just Some Guy when really he's the most powerful demigod this entire generation??? He's smarter than he gives himself credit for !!!! He thinks he's just bumbling. Along but he has really good instincts and he knows how to use people's weaknesses against them !!! I could write a whole essay about why he's so GOOD!!!

2.) Nick Nelson (heartstopper) - he's just a big ol softy with a heart of gold !!!! He loves his boyfriend and doesn't care who knows it !!!! Literally willing to beat up bullies for talking bad about Charlie !!!! He just wants all his loved ones to be happy and he'll bend over backwards to make it happen !!! The ULTIMATE Golden Retriever Boy !!!!

3.) Marcille Donato (Delicious in Dungeon) - I adore her because she's everything you think she shouldn't be, and I think she's a more complex character than you'd first expect. She's a pretty elf girl who specializes in dark magic. She hates eating monsters and being in the dungeon in general but she does it anyway !!! She's so powerful but also kind and also has some internal prejudices she's working through but she's trying her best !!! She's incredibly smart but also a little bit of a disaster !!!! She's even gay !!!! I just think she's neat

[redxx95]

Is Kurosawa really not Adachi's "type"?

Surprise, this essay is Adachi-focused for once 😂

In my last essay (which you can find here) I mentioned how Kurosawa thinks Adachi has a type (as in, certain traits he finds attractive) which he believes he does not fall under. In this essay I'm not only going to prove him wrong but also really examine what Adachi's "type" even really is, because I think Kurosawa is somewhat of an unreliable narrator in this.

Kurosawa's assumption

First let's take a closer look at the traits Kurosawa names when he talks about Adachi's type. In Japanese, those are 青春系 (youthful-like, which got translated as "pure and innocent vibe") 清掃 (clean, translated as "delicate") and 優しい (kind) (panels are from ch 5.5 and 18.5)

Does Kurosawa fit those traits? Well. Kinda. There's this one panel where Adachi sees him as "pure" and there's many instances where Kurosawa acts kind of childlike which one could describe as youthful/innocent, but it's not the most solid proof.

"Clean" is an easier descriptor to prove though, since Adachi calls him that multiple times, albeit not exactly the same word in Japanese. (He uses 清潔 which translates to "clean" and, funnily enough, "pure" but in the sense of perfection rather than innocence.)

And so is "kind", which is a core trait Adachi values about Kurosawa and even mentions it first when asked. (This is not super relevant but I also want to point out that the first character in Kurosawa's first name (優) is literally the kanji for "kind".)

But if you actually check whether or not Adachi ever uses these words to describe Fujisaki himself, you'll find that the only one he uses at least once is "kind", and I could only find that in the japanese version. More on that later though.

What he never calls her though is pure, youthful, innocent or delicate.

Exploring Adachi's type

So now that we established that Kurosawa's assumption is kind of shaky, let's try to figure out what traits Adachi is actually attracted to, and whether or not those can be applied to Kurosawa. Our candidates who he has shown to be interested in are as follows:

The middle school girl and the black haired woman from his nightmare/flashback, and Fujisaki.

That is… not a whole lot. Since we can basically immediately exclude the middle school girl, because we have only one panel to go off of, we're left with only two people to examine, but examine we shall nonetheless!

Let's start with the flashback woman. She does visually resemble Fujisaki quite a bit, but I believe the actual reason Adachi even considers her is because of this.

She seems (at least initially) open-minded and is the only one putting a somewhat positive spin on men with no relationship experience. She's probably displayed this trait before and that might have been why Adachi got interested in the first place. And guess who else does that, who we know Adachi is definitely interested in.

The way this is the whole reason he even realizes his feelings for Kurosawa is also very telling. I think that for him looks take a backseat in favor of personality. He's pointed out the conventional attractiveness of the women in Toyokawa before but he never shows any actual interest in them.

Here he also points out their prettiness but is immediately scared off when he learns of their thoughts about him. The only one we see him actually interested in is Fujisaki, whose looks are more on the average side but whose thoughts never get nasty and insulting like the ones he hears from the pretty women. … which is also a thing he values about Kurosawa, and he even tells him that directly in ch 34 when they have their heart-to-heart pre-first time. And it's funny because in the beginning he does expect him to have a "nasty personality", probably because he's so used to good looking people being like that.

In conclusion: The reason he likes the flashback woman is not because she has pretty long black hair but because she is not mean about other people's shortcomings, which can be applied to Kurosawa as well.

Now let's look at Fujisaki and all of her interactions with Adachi and see if we can find some more of those Parallels that we love so much on this blog.

Adachi mentions that Fujisaki is cute quite often.

… which he also thinks of Kurosawa very often. There were honestly so many instances where Adachi finds him cute that I would reach the image limit on this post very quickly so have this one panel instead:

Bonus: he also very much enjoys Kurosawa's smell.

And since we're on the topic of "cute", I think a big reason why he finds her so cute is also that Fujisaki often asks Adachi for help, and as I mentioned in this essay, Adachi likes to feel needed.

Which, again, very much applies to Kurosawa, too.

Adachi also seems to appreciate that Fujisaki is a hard worker. (He doesn't know she's reading yaoi on company time though.)

And once again, he states this to be something he likes about Kurosawa as well.

Another descriptor he likes to use for her is "good". This often means "kind" in the japanese version, which I already elaborated on above. (For example in the panel below "nice" is "kind" in the original.) But there's also plenty of times he calls Kurosawa a "good guy" (i.e. "kind")

I know I said before that visuals don't matter as much to him but these parallels are just too funny not to include. Flower backgrounds for the pretty people 💐

Bonus Mari in here because I think it's cute how he blushes at her. Both Kurosawas are simply too much for this bisexual disaster man.

And apparently he's also just really into very shiny people.

So now that I've really hammered my point home that Kurosawa is just as much Adachi's type as any of his other interests, let's think about why there's even such a discrepancy between what Kurosawa assumes and what actually is. I think it's because his only point of reference for Adachi's interest in romantic partners is Fujisaki. What he doesn't consider, however, is that Fujisaki never tried to put up a perfect front around Adachi the way he did. Adachi has had the chance to see Fujisaki fail and find that immediately endearing, whereas with Kurosawa he had to first get magic mind reading powers to get to that same point. At least they got there eventually 🫶

Ok I'm finally done rambling, this thing got way too long again 😩

Are YOU Adachi's type? 🫵 Tell me about it in the comments!

[fight-nights-at-freddys]

"I don't support it in real life!"CW: talk of sexualizing minors, slight rant

Then why write about it? If for coping purposes, why post it online for others (especially actual predators) to see and consume? Then why portray those things in a positive light instead of condemning them?And you're seriously going to tell me that just because as an adult (1) you want to see a fictional minor (that mind you, is usually designed to resemble an actual child) depicted in sexual situations doesn't mean you don't share that same view concerning children in real life? You find fictional minors attractive but not real ones? Why does the line between finding someone who is (and usually also looks like) a child sexually attractive get drawn at whether the child is real or not? I'm not calling anyone pedophiles, but if the shoe fits...(1) No I am not talking about 18 y/os finding 17 y/os attractive. Use your brain. Creating content of underaged characters is still questionable regardless of age, however.

"Just mute/block instead of harassing others!"I have nearly 70k people blocked on twitter, and hundreds of words and tags muted, I softblock and mute people who post things I don't want to see. I still see certain things on my timeline, usually because1) It's posted in the main tags of something I'm interested in2) The post isn't even tagged at all3) If someone quote retweets from someone I've blocked, I still see the take on my timeline.

"Antis use the same rhetoric as exclusionists and TERFS!"What exactly does being against pedophilia have to do with trans (women) exclusionary radical feminism?And what does lgbtq discourse in general have to do with not wanting minors to be sexualized?

"Antis harass people!"Apparently, proshippers have never done this before! Not once has a grown adult stalked literal children for calling their ships gross!Not saying harassments ok at all, but let's not act like the poor proshippers are being oppressed here.Also, I promise you, someone saying "x is a proshipper, please block them if you don't want to see their content" is not harassment. Writing callout posts and videos on underaged "antis", however is most definitely harassment but y'all don't want to hear that. People have the right to know if they are platforming people who go against their personal beliefs and morals. Choosing to hide that from people who would otherwise not want to interact with you for the sake of not wanting to "lose friends" makes you a bad person, and you should feel bad.

replying under the cut bc this ask was long enough, and i don't wanna make ppl who follow us/see this have to scroll for eons

why do you think coping mechanisms have to stay private? if someone's coping mechanism was yoga, or working out, would you say they have to do that by themselves, in the confines of their own house, and they aren't allowed to talk to anyone else about it? i hope not, because that would be ridiculous (inb4 "yeah but yoga isn't harming anyone!", neither is fiction!).

the fact of the matter is, anyone can consume any type of content, and that shouldn't prevent people from making what they like. why not portray it in a positive light? what does it matter? any regular person knows that what they see in fiction should not necessarily be replicated in real life. i know better than to go out and kill someone just because billy loomis and stu macher do it.

furthermore, wouldn't you want actual pedophiles to use fiction rather than them going out and hurting real children? that's not how that works, but using your argument that they're one and the same, wouldn't that be better for everyone, and result in less people getting hurt, ergo fiction doesn't hurt anyone?

no, fictional characters are not meant to resemble actual children. that IS a crime. however, you cannot look at an anime child, or idk, kid ashley from TCOAAL, and tell me that looks like a REAL child. that's nonsense. and no, it does NOT mean i "share the same view concerning children in real life", because those characters aren't real, and i (can't believe i have to say this) am NOT attracted to real children. yes, you ARE calling me a pedophile, which is just categorically not true. it's not "questionable" because it's not REAL, which is necessary for someone to be diagnosed with pedophilia, which is a disorder, and not just some label you can put on people.

genuinely, if you are THAT sensitive to people having other opinions, or are sensitive to different kinds of art, maybe social media isn't the place for you to be. if the post isn't tagged, i agree, something should be done about that, but the fact is, WE DO tag our stuff. that has nothing to do with me (or chica), or even proshippers as a whole. you're doing the thing were you believe one rotten apple spoils the bunch.

when you post something online, you HAVE to understand that literally anyone can view it, and if your accounts aren't private, anyone can interact with it. that is the cost of posting online. if you can't handle that, log off.

i don't think i've ever compared being an anti to being a terf/exclus, BUT they do objectively share some of the same opinions as conservatives, and even nazis (which is NOT to say all antis are conservatives/nazis, but that you share some of the same ideals).

i can't speak much to that because i don't think i've ever made that argument, but it is a lil radfem-y when most of y'all go after specifically BL and yaoi. also terfs aren't only bigoted towards trans women, it's also trans men. idk why you said that.

yes, correct, anyone can harass anyone, but the fact of the matter is, 99% of the time proshippers get harassed, it's while we're in our own lanes, minding our own business, and y'all (much like you're doing right now) come into OUR spaces and call us pedophiles, and say we deserve to die, or that we should kill ourselves.

if you've been following this blog for the last week-ish, you'd have seen some prime examples of just that. doing nothing, talking to no one, and getting harassed. people saying i should be on watchpeopledie, saying i should be killed, that they hope i get cancer, or die in a car accident, or that my dad beats me to death. that i should "slit", cut to the bone, kill myself, hang myself. threatening to doxx me, find my address, have tried to grab my ip. the difference is, when proshippers are found to be doing this stuff, they're called out and reported, often by other proshippers, whereas antis, when they exhibit this behavior, they are encouraged. they're praised by their peers.

if all people did was say "x is a proshipper, block them", we wouldn't have an issue, but the fact is, a significant amount of y'all don't start with blocking. you start with slurs, nasty names, disgusting accusations, and downright deplorable behavior BEFORE you block us. if you block us. and when we block you, it's entirely possible you just create a new account to harass us from, or grab your friends to do it for you.

if platforming people who like different types of fiction than you is that big of a problem, that you feel the need to write callouts, make google docs, harass them, and threaten to doxx them, you need to get off the internet. stop interacting with people AT ALL. live in a bubble. because again, people you don't like are always going to exist on the internet, it's your duty to navigate that in the best way you can, WITHOUT hurting anyone.

people hide the fact they're proship because we don't want the harassment. that's sorta the crux of the issue? you're completely ignoring the COUNTLESS posts of people being harassed for simply existing and being proship. we shouldn't be made to feel bad for trying to protect ourselves and our peace, YOU should be made to feel bad for making others feel bad.

[kneelingshadowsalome]

Would you mind talking more about Ghost? I dig your interpretation on him so i'm curious if you'd share your thoughts; since i know how COD in general writes these characters and we know romance isn't on the table for them, ESP for someone like Ghost (even confimred by his voice actor too!)

So all that aside, in your opinion, what would it take to win Ghost's heart (or well, Simon's)? :)

It's great to hear you like my interpretation of Ghost! I'll gladly share my thoughts on this, the supposed love life of Simon Riley is one of my favorite subjects 🧐

Thoughts on what would it take to win Simon's heart under the cut ->

To be honest I see it highly unlikely that Ghost would date. I think Samuel Roukin's opinion on this matter was spot on. Simon's traumatic background, trust issues, the need to stay anonymous and his profession as a special ops soldier is just too heavy a combo. His family's murder and multiple betrayals have pushed him on a path of extreme independence and made him evade any kind of attachment.

That being said... I'm a hopeless romantic and love to imagine scenarios just like every other little simp here 🩷💋, and I've pictured (and occasionally written) him to be drawn to someone who is principally the opposite of himself, but who also has a dash of angst in their heart and firsthand experience or at least some basic understanding of complex trauma.

A positive vibes only/sunshine type of person would not resonate well with his darkness, and a carefree joker would only annoy him. Then again, there's Soap – but the thing with John MacTavish is that he shares the same profession and in that way, is not a stranger to the Underworld. Their banter is also evidence enough that Soap is not afraid of Ghost's madness and even looks up to him – actually a perfect way to make someone like Ghost enjoy your company. This man has a terrible praise kink but he can't stand spineless bootlickers. So the adoration should happen in a "I trust you and would follow you to hell & back" kind of way.

However, due to the shit he's been through, I'd say (contrary to popular headcanon, I dunno?) that Simon would likely fall for someone outside the military world. First of all, he's very uncomfortable with the fact that his partner has to fear for his safety. But the fear of losing his partner to the dangers of this profession would be a little too much. It would only trigger a shitload of PTSD stuff. The fear of losing a loved one again would override the mutual experience and bonding through warfare, all the elements which otherwise might be pull factors in a military love interest. On the other hand, people with traumatic backgrounds tend to repeat the pattern, no matter how horrific or unsafe, simply because it's familiar. Still, I'd say someone from the base personnel would be a more alluring option for him. The shared hell, so to say, could make the foundations of this relationship quite dark. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing!

Deep down, Simon would be attracted to softness. Not innocence, per se, just something different from the realm in which he operates. This is why I think he could definitely fall for "a normie". He would appreciate dark humor and a certain kind of fearlessness, however. What ultimately would win his heart is someone who can stand, even cherish, his melancholy and cynicism and life choices and who is not on a quest to change or "fix" him.

I think Simon's ultimate wish is to find a home because he has lost it (or hasn't really had one in the first place). He's a leader and has to provide safety and support on a daily basis to the people under his command. But who offers support and safety to him? He knows how to protect people but doesn't know how to create a safe space, so he would appreciate someone who makes him feel he's finally found his way home. I think he yearns for a small measure of peace and a slice of normal life to wash away the adrenaline and blood and filth, he wants a small corner free from the demons that haunt him, even if he would reluctantly (if ever) admit that he does.

[yourfavepookiebear]

can you do a self aware neige x cubby reader and slowly with each interaction he is encouraging her in his way.

(I'm assuming you meant chubby-)

Alright, thanks for the request !! You saved me pookie *gets down on one knee, holds out my hand with a ringbox in it* 💍💐 will you marry me ? Jkjk also I'm gonna make it a gn since you didn't specify the gender hope you like it-

HERE WE GO POOKIES BEAR WITH ME

Self aware Neige LeBlanche x chubby reader.

As usual, you were playing twisted wonderland, your favorite game. You were obsessed with it as of late, spending every single remaining penny in your wallet just for it. Little did you know, Neige was, (as always) watching you through the screen.

You didn't interact much with Neige in the game, most of your interactions were in the VDC. (and that's exactly when he fell for you)

He really loves you, like a lot. (A bit too much to be just a crush, I'd say)

But still, he is head-over-heels for you. (Literally and metaphorically)

I don't really think he'd treat you any differently just because of how you look since you're his precious snowflake (idk I don't know any pet names except for pookie, bear with me 😭)

Except when he notices how...low, your self esteem seems to be.

Now now, that WON'T DO. You are HIS precious snowflake, the player, the all-knowing overseer. How could you let something as small as that bring you down ?

(This is during the pomefiore chapter btw)

He will definitely try to maximize your interactions with him, and sneakily add some praising lines (without raising your suspicion)

"Oh my, you look ethereal as always." Or "would you look at that, our precious [name]. Beautiful/ handsome/ attractive as usual, truly outstanding." (I honestly don't know how to word it in a way that would be neige-like but you get the point)

Slowly, but surely, he will praise you more and more, and successfully avoids any suspicion. Although he doesn't add TOO MANY praises, since he knows it could be overwhelming at times (he has second-hand experience as THE Neige LeBlanche)

He will keep doing that until he's sure and certain that you've regained your confidence.

Soon enough, you'll be as confident as ever, without even needing his praise.

I don't see him as the type for fake flattery, and neither do you, and you know 'comfort character' things 🤭

Overall he is really helpful to you, and is literally the opposite of Vil (canonically) if Vil made you feel even the slightest bit humiliated or judged, then Neige will make you feel like a queen.

I hope you enjoyed this I tried my best pookie I didn't really know how to do this tho-i honestly had no idea what to put 😔

[astrow0rldx]

Ian Somerhalder Birth Chart Reading

About him & his fans <3

small notes: FUN GUY! would definitely party with him, laugh with him, have fun with, invite. but date? Man whore, oh wow who made him. (Mars in Sag in the 11th. Venus in scorpio in the 9th) Smoke sesh me please, he would definitely open your mind, make you laugh, deep talks, experience all type of things. He is so for the people though it's crazy & he knows it. I personally don't like people who walk around with their PUBLIC status stamped in their mind (not personal self worth), because it can get the best of people, external validation. (Sun, Mercury Mars in the 11th house. Uranus (his chart ruler) & Mercury in the 10th)

Wouldn't be surprised if he was very connected to his character & loved playing Damon Salvatore. maybe attracted to it, and fw it heavily.

·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:· Experienced Astrologer for 7-8 years now. I'm new to networking, tumblr and having an astrology content account & paid readings so just follow my private Instagram account universalstarbaby00 for any inquiry ·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:·

analysis

Whatever gender you identify as, I know he has a lot of leo rising/venus/moon/sun fans, lilith 1st house/conjunct sun/moon, or jupiter 1st house/conjunct sun/moon because those are also on his descendant/7th house. His outlook & approach on his life so the way people perceive him is very aquarian (Aquarius Rising). His chart ascends & descends at the polarity of individuality. Aquarius is unique, theorize , idealist, creative, because Aquarius needs to revolutionize, invent, so it might wants to be, (just like leo its opposite), the most individual, stand-outish person in the room. As we know (or far as me & everyone I know), he sure stands out in the show & just as a celebrity. Remember this is on his ascendant & not his sun, so its not really his ego, or how he identifies himself. But its his instinctual self on his interactive body that approaches the world. So, since leo is descending, its the type of traits you look for, or attract approaching the world that you can harmonize with, marriage, settle down with, business partner, or just relationships in general. It's also the traits you feel like you lack & will complete you so you look for it in other people. with it being in lilith & jupiter also hes probably attracted to/attracy blessed, open minded, adventurous, femme fatale, woman who are self assured in their desires (sexually liberated to). so while he's this aquarius rising, approaching the world from a "im different" "im different" "don't put me in a box" special lense. He definitely attracts, business partners, bonds, lovers & attracted to the "i will shine, drama queen" "me" "my life" "look what i can do" special lense. the 2 work hand & hand (as narcissist lmfao).

So I feel like the ascendant is how you look, physical traits on your interactive body. your outlook, so maybe how you dress & your aesthetic. TO ME, i think his whole persona is definitely revolutionizing, different & unique.

On that dark kind of vibe we get from him, his mc is in Scorpio. MC is your public image, how you fit in this world. INTENSE & POWERFUL ASL. Think of when your out and about, scrolling on social media & looking at historians & celebrities for how their place is in this world, which can definitely show another vibe, physical trait and part of your aesthetic but more of your AURA. this how HIS FANS, people who don't even know him but HEARD OF HIM gets. usually you don't identify with it since its so public, unless its certain planets in your 10th house. this is his literal reputation. & What is your reputation, social status, known for/rooted in, most likely your social media, and/or career field, and/or a character he's KNOWN FOR. Damon Salvatore, a literal vampire. very scorpionic. quite literally, Scorpio is about possession, whether it be through death & occult, or through sex, possessiveness, power/control. I mean it don't get no more Damon Salvatore than that.

LMAO & his scorpio 10th house is in mercury and uranus. Who is Damon Salvatore? A weird, unique, alienated, stand-out, different, freak (uranus and his CHART RULER) that is very clever, good with his words & conversations, persuasive, MIND CONTROL, his character was alwayssss the one doing the mind compulsions (mercury).

Your 5th house is your hobbies, interest, what type of things you like. Its where you shine & get to be special. so this is also the house of drama, romance, pleasure, etc. Drama, like theater & acting because even in real drama your being dramatic. It can show what type of acting roles you play but more like how you act, like how you would be in theater/drama. Ian Somerhalder for his 5th house cusps lands on the behavior of Gemini. Gemini is 2 faced, gemini is twins, masks, 2 personalities, a whole clown. So basically Damon Salvatore fitting in Mystic falls, being able to play his humanity & vampirism very good like gemini. gemini is also a fast thinker, clever & witty, & represents movement.

Speaking on him being an actor. His asteroid Actor (12238) sextiles his personal planet mercury. Sextiles are when you work with one another, friends, support & grow with one another so it can create opportunities. Actor Sextile his Mercury of his mental mind, movement, & how you think & process, your mindset & brain skills basically which is also how you communicate externally. so he may be really good at thinking like his character. when he is acting especially because mercury rules gemini & his 5th house is in gemini, he definitely knows how to mentally get in the psyche of the character. think, idea, process, act, communicate, talk like his characters. personally he can be really good & analytical at how he understand the roles he has to play & studying his lines. or to the Acting career field in general. Actor also sextiles his planet Jupiter of Luck, Expansion, Blessings, Prosperity. Unfortunately, it opposes his moon. So he may have direct tension with being an actor or his characters and his inner comfort, security & emotions. and not to DROP THE BOMB, but while Actor is growing with his mind & blessings. It lives in the 8th house. of death, occult, sex, psychology, merging, power, control, transformation, rebirth. hmmm. hm. shit fuck damon salvatore. ALLLLL the rest of his acting roles is 8th house vibes, 2001 a teenager gets involved in drugs. movie revolves around a man dying of cancer. rebuilding his life. 2002, a dark sex drama about college kid entanglements, 2009 a sadistic ruthless assasin fight till death, 2014 a mysterious creature in a futuristic conspiracy. scifi thriller. I CAN GO ON.

You know what else 2 planets (i don't have all his asteroids pushed in but planets can be very more main and brief and bigger.) is in the 8th house? Because these are the themes & areas in his life. His North Node & His Saturn. Seem like it was good for him because a lot of his life purpose & lessons. what he's to become & his karma lives in the 8th house. Saturn is also about authoritative, control, lessons, karma, sucess, responsibility. its where you gotta be on top of your shit. So most likely that energy is where you express in your career field, in your life, responsibly.

The fairies & the mermaids & the vampires & the unicorns that deceive all represent the 12th house. This is the house of spirituality, astral projection, subconcious, dreams, fantasies, inspiration, day dreams, tv shows, all that dreamy energy. In his chart, Abundantia, Apollo, Sekhmet & Aura lives there. Abundantia is what makes you most abundant, where to find your gold. He definitely fount it in a spiritual way, tapping into that energy. Apollo is your shiny, talent energy that you have gifts in. Sekhmet is originally the first vampire here on earth, an ancient Egyptian goddess. And Aura, is your aura. so those asteroids/characters definitely touched his subconcious, dreams, fantasies, astral/spiritual self.

[edwinisms]

You have some pretty great takes on Edwin so I was wondering if you had any thoughts on what a season 2 arc could realistically look like for him. Edwin's s1 character arc is fleshed out and concludes nicely with Edwin having a growing understanding of himself, so I'm guessing we will get to see him navigate these newly realized parts of himself in season 2, but I have no idea how that could actually play out. I'm also wondering about the Charles of it all, since one of Edwins newest revelations is his feelings for Charles. I'm wondering how he'll deal with that. Edwins a very "on mission" type person who always needs a problem to solve, but since his feelings for Charles are already figured out (and Charles supposedly lack of romantic feelings isn't a problem with a solution) I can imagine Edwin pushing those feelings to the back of his mind so he can focus on problems he deems fixable.

good question– I feel like it’s pretty easy to think of what kinds of conflicts and feelings charles might deal with in a s2 but edwin’s situation is certainly a lot more open-ended as it stands– but, that being said, him and his feelings are very very intertwined with charles and whatever charles is dealing with (especially in regards to edwin himself), so whether or not something external or overarching s2 plot-related ends up influencing edwin’s arc(s), I think we can pretty solidly say that part of his s2 situation is gonna have to do with charles’, not passively, but directly.

soooooo what i mean is that whatever might ALSO be going on at the same time with him, edwin’s probably gonna be heavily impacted by charles’ impending sexuality/romantic crisis and however that manifests. I think the most prominent idea in my head of how this might go (though of course i have others) based on charles’ response to the confession and his flirtatiousness in the finale is– if charles maintains, or god forbid ramps up, his flirting and teasing, all while edwin believes he was rejected, charles is straight (and based on crystal kissing him in the butcher shop, also possibly believing charles is still set on dating her), and all-in-all he doesn’t actually have a chance– it’s going to drive him fucking insane.

like, obviously he’d love the affection and attention, and he’d continue to be relieved that his confession definitely didn’t repel charles in any way, but with the belief that it can’t and won’t amount to what edwin pines for, that the implications of attraction aren’t genuine, etc– at a certain point that relief and flattery is going to give way to an ever-growing, pained frustration that’s bound to reach a breaking point eventually. and with edwin simultaneously becoming more and more confident in his sexuality and his romantic feelings and such, the pre-existing insecurity won’t be strong enough to prevent his willful, not-afraid-to-speak-his-mind personality from breaking through and making him snap once something pushes him over the edge. and yeah, he’d be a bit worried about damaging their friendship by bringing it up initially and all that, but I think he’d be equally, if not more worried over the feeling that he won’t be able to take being strung along like this forever, especially if/when charles ends up with someone else. it’d just be unnecessarily painful.

of course, all the while, charles isn’t registering his behavior as cruel or anything, because in his mind, his response to the confession wasn’t a rejection at all. it was open-ended, with the implication that they’d figure it out over time once they could. nor is he really that focused on edwin’s perception of his flirtatiousness, because he knows how edwin feels about him, and he’s dealing with his own internal conflicts trying to figure out

A) if his feelings truly amount to being “in love”,

B) what that implies for his identity, and

C) how to know what being “in love” even means and how to identify it in himself (this one being especially heavy, because it involves dealing with the fact that he really wasn’t deeply loved by anyone during his time alive, and he didn’t get to see any good examples of what being in love should be either).

shifting the focus back towards edwin– let’s say, as charles is dealing with all that, he ends up in a situation where crystal kisses him, perhaps misreading him confiding in her and asking about what it means to be in love (which, I have to note, would be a satisfying little parallel to edwin’s conversation with monty). and though he’d shy away and she’d be able to tell something was wrong and/or that he wasn’t talking about her before he even says it, the damage is done, either directly (by being witnessed) or with a delay (someone mentioning that they kissed later on). that, and/or the two appearing to be off in private together and in intimate conversations a lot as of late (when in reality charles is mostly working out his feelings for edwin and his identity issues with her, definitely deeply bonding with her but not like that)– the cues would build up and make edwin’s snapping all the more inevitable.

and i mean, there’s several ways that confrontation could play out, but the natural, drama-esque scenario to me would be edwin having an outburst of all that pent up anger and pain and jealousy and confusion, during which charles realizes that this whole time edwin’s thought that he’d been rejected. edwin, being stubborn and intense as he can be, clearly needs to be fully, completely convinced, and charles, always the type to act on impulse and heart, kisses him into clarification. and also to shut him up. cliché? maybe. but tell me you can’t see it.

anywayyyyyy obviously there’s a plethora of other ways all this can go, plenty of other conflicts that can pop up in between, and as for storylines/themes/etc outside of this particular relationship it’s nearly impossible to tell what might come up because obviously edwin (and everyone else) will be intertwined with whatever the plot turns out to be and whoever it may introduce– but this is probably what I’ve thought about the most. second most dwelled upon plot point in all this being charles having to address his Own jealousy over the guys who hit on edwin– like. considering that’s not exactly a super platonic feeling, at least at the level he feels it. but yeah, i could go on forever so I should probably stop.

[marchiekana]

Human heater anon here, I'll just call myself Anon H,I know you're not back from your camping which I really hope you're enjoying, camping is amazing if done right. Kinda makes me wanna do it. Anyways ! I'll leave this idea here, take it or leave it ! I just need to get this out to someone.

Ahem, I had the sudden thought of a reader who's just the most chill, laid back and nonchalant person. Someone is being annoying ? Reader doesn't care and and just keeps going. Alone ? Just Vibing. Someone disagrees with them intensely ? It's cool mate. Though it sometimes attracts people to diminish the reader because they know the reader won't care so they lash out their pent up frustration. They also annoy the characters (I'll mention them after), as in they're just TOO laid back it can be a pain. I think Silver Wolf, Serval and Kafka could be neat for that. Thanks for reading my little rant.

I'm back ehehe

But anyways this prompt made me kick my legs and giggle 🤭

Also there might be some grammer or spelling mistakes cause I typed this in like half an hour

I feel like kafka would share a similar energy too but hers is more... calculated? She'd definitely try to mess with you and make bets with the other members to see who makes you angry first(which she miserably failed at ).

Oh but she loves how you are sometimes( she loves u all the time). Your laid back attitude when someone is angry with you and seeing your nonchalant answers anger the person in front of you is free entertainment for her and the best thing is the snarky comments you give each other when you're having an argument. She'd purposefully try making you angry (which she'd, again, fail to do so)

But! Sometimes, just sometimes, she doesn't really like how you don't take things very serious. Especially when you've come back hurt from a mission or fighting with someone. or if you just fell down on the stairs. She hates how you don't take your injuries seriously and that annoys her a lot. Would subtly scold you in a soft tone but even after you shrug it off and tell her that you're fine or remark on how funny it was that this happened to you, she would raise her voice and tell you how she feels about what you're doing. But no worries after a little fight she'd apologize and tell you to take care of yourself and makes sure you do so.

But if someone really tried to hurt you both physically or with their words, that person better pray for themselves.

Now for Silver Wolf, she'd.....do nothing. She doesn't care much honestly. She likes how calm and friendly you are. Loves how you don't disturb her during her gaming sessions and will be ready to teach you any game you want. And the thing is, you're the only one who doesn't make her angry while she's teaching you cause you're pretty fast learner. Unlike a certain few.

And the way you fight is quite amusing too her. You're both very similar in that. A smug, expression and taunting words. Would definitely enjoy seeing you fight while she's on the sidelines.

Serval is an absolute tease about it. No intentions of making you angry, she just thinks it's cute.

But if, by any chance you get hurt while fighting or you happened to break one of her precious games, you better get ready cause you're in for a little ride around tantrum town. She doesn't like that you just say that you'll buy her a new one or tell her that she's overreacting with that stupid smug smile of yours. Its like You're not really sorry when you really are. Your expressions just don't match Your feeling and that causes a misunderstanding and then you're gonna get silent treatment for about three days and few death glares here and there. And maybe a few petty fights....but that's ok cause she'll forgive you in the end and tell you to atleast care about her feelings.

She absolutely loves your nonchalant smile/smug! You just look so good! She likes how cool headed you are and how well you handle situations, it could be an angry customer at her shop or anyone to say the least. Its not like she can't handle the customer herself, she wants to watch you do it, with that pretty little smug on your.

But just imagine, one day you broke her favourite trinkets given to her by her brother and she was already having a bad and then sees the condition of the trinket and an awkward smile on your face as you apologize to her. On that day, you saw a Serval that was a whole different person. She scolded you, you got angry and again, with that smug, taunting smile of yours, say something to piss her off more and she leaves. You better go ask her sorry after this and buy her some flower.

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Idk buf Kafka seems a bit too ooc in the end, honestly all of them do but oh well. thanks for listening to my rant too lol 😆

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© marchiekana do not repost, copy, translate or plagiarize my work!

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[autisticempathydaemon]

Hi Lexi! I saw your match ups and I'm curious who you'd match me up with, if you wouldn't mind?

•What song are you fixated on at the moment? What lyric or verse, and why?

• Okay, so I’ve listened to ‘Rule #34’ by Fish in a Birdcage over and over. The verse ‘You look so good, there on your knees/ Such a good girl knows how to please/ Look at me, look me in the eyes/ Forget yourself, surrender your mind/ Right now, you’re mine/ All mine/ Give in, you’re mine/ All mine (oh)’ I really have no real reason that comes to mind except that it scratches something in my brain.

•What is your Enneagram type?

•I'm an INFJ

•Do you love gargantuan Youtube video essays, and if so, which is your favorite and why?

•I do not, the closest I’d say I enjoy are the Redacted 101 videos

•Tell me about your childhood imaginary friend.

•I actually can’t remember much of my childhood. I think I used to have an imaginary friend but I can’t remember specifics

•What is your go-to way to fall asleep?

•listening to ASMR videos, usually Redacted

•If you had to change your name, what would it be, and why? (In tandem, if you have changed your name, why did you pick that one?)

• Hmmm that’s a good question. I actually like my name so I’ve never thought of changing it. I might go with Amitisia, it’s kinda cringe because it’s the name I gave to a main character of a story I never finished writing when I was a teenager.

•What is your favorite of Redacted’s audios, and why?

•Number one spot goes to “Your Incubus Confesses His Feelings (Again) While You Sleep”. It’s so soft and sweet and makes me feel so comforted when I’m having a bad day. I’ve listened to it a lot before I fall asleep.

Second place would go to “Falling For Your Yandere Childhood Friend”

•What Redacted boy holds no appeal to you, and why? Like, not the one you hate but the one who you don’t get the hype for. (I won’t judge, I promise.)

•Hate to say it but Ollie, he’s so sweet and nice but I was just never interested? And it always seems like we get an Ollie video before something bad happens so maybe that has something to do with it?

•Tell me about that one book/movie/tv show you know all the words to.

•I tend to replay shows and movies I like a lot so there’s a bunch. I guess I’ll go with “Mulan” because it’s my all time favorite Disney movie.

•Which Redacted boy are you platonically attracted to? Like- forget dating, which dude do you want to be your best friend?

•Oh, definitely Asher! Whenever I listen to his playlist I'm just like…You’re cute and chaotic but I’d rather have you as a wing-man.

•Do you have a go-to thing you ramble about when you’re tired, and if so, what is it? (For example, my boyfriend knows I’m ready to sleep when I start talking about space.)

•So, irl I’m a very quiet person, so I get even more quiet when I’m tired. I guess if I picked something, it’d be something I’m currently trying to write?

•Tell me your go-to gas station and drink combo.

•Nachos and cheese and root beer

•Tell me about your favorite playlist at the moment.

•I’ve currently been obsessed with the Epic the Musical playlist. I have to stop myself from singing it when I listen at work

•What’s your guilty pleasure media, and why?

•Reverse harem books, especially if it’s more of a poly situation than a multiple guys are with one girl. I was always frustrated with love triangles in books growing up, because…why can’t they all just be together. It was a pretty blaring flag that I was poly, now that I think about it.

•Extras

•My favorite color is purple. I love cats. I enjoy anime or animated shows/movies over live action. I collect pins, rocks/crystals, and stuffed animals. I hate certain food textures.

There are lots of cute details here to consider and prioritize when I was considering your match, but your being a writer won out. I can’t not pair a writer with Guy, you know?

Despite the same hobby/vocation, I love the small ways you contrast each other as well. Guy’s extroverted, bombastic nature would be such a cute foil to your introverted, quiet self. You’re a cat person; I imagine Guy as a dog person. These differences keep things interesting and balanced but not discordant, you know? I also think Guy is one of the redacted bois most likely to be poly/a romantic anarchist, so that’s another factor that would make y’all work so well. (He’d have similar feelings about love triangles, and a couple that bitches together stays together /hj /pos)

Guy would be such a charming boyfriend- not necessarily an easy one to an introvert but definitely a charming one. You two have writing sessions that are meant to be done quietly, in tandem, and they never are, always interrupted by Guy’s stream of consciousness and sidetracked thoughts spoken out loud. (Somehow, you still always get so much written. He’s very inspiring that way.) You two adopt both a cat and a dog that get along a lot better than anyone would expect. Guy always feels in his bones when you’re not having a great day and comes home with a new rock or pin for collection.

Song:

And that's because I wanna be your favorite boy/ I wanna be the one that makes your day/ The one you think about as you lie awake/ I can't wait to be your number one/ I'll be your biggest fan and you'll be mine

The song I picked for y’all isn’t necessarily one I think you’d both like per se, though it’s very catchy; I picked it because it’d make a good soundtrack to your love story. It makes me think of Guy falling in love with you, falling first, and being like “just you wait, I am going to win you over”, like he wants to be your favorite boy, your boyfriend, but best friend/roommate is a good start.

Runner-ups:

Huxley is a cute runner-up for you as an ambivert, but I especially love how often he’d bring you rocks and crystals for your collection, maybe even getting you a special shelf to display them on. Camelopardalis is your other runner-up, because he’s one loving partner away from falling in love with cats; he just needs someone to show him the way.

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

[laura1633]

About the ask you got about Max being written as the unattractive one so often, I think it’s worth remembering that in the bulk of fanfiction and fandom, complicated things are very often boiled down to their simplest tropes! The general public’s perception is that Charles is one of the most attractive drivers on the grid, so that means that Max is usually relegated to the “ugly”/self-conscious role because that is the easiest way to write it.

I think it’s kind of the same as the way Charles is often the hyper-feminized character while Max is the more boyish/masculine one. Not to say that any of these takes are objectively bad because obviously writers should write what they’d like, but I think these types of basic concepts just make it easier to jump in and get going.

Personally, I do love a real character study, and I love it when they both are written with their own insecurities that just baffle the other one because it’s like “what do you mean???? You’re the hottest person I’ve ever seen!!!!” 🥰

Some really great points anon <3

You are definitely right about some fan fiction being boiled down to tropes. I'm not saying that as a negative because I love reading and writing lots of the popular tropes. It's funny because things that might put me off certain films etc draw me in in fan fiction, I think fan fiction just hits differently. I will read the same trope over and over and love it each time.

I sometimes wonder if a little of the perception of Max also has to do with the fact that Max came into this sport so young and sometimes when you are still growing and getting comfortable with yourself you can come across as more awkward (not always but sometimes). I think people still think he is that younger Max and have completely missed the fact he has grown up in to this really hot man! (In much the same way as how people like to go on about things he did on the track 10 years ago as some sort of statement for the type of driver he is)

I guess when you have a story idea that requires one of them to be the less attractive one and you are writing about Max and Charles it's a struggle ! I just find it really difficult to try and think about Max being the 'less attractive one' because I just look at him and think he is the most attractive on the grid. Not that I am going to try and describe Charles as unattractive 😂

To me it all just comes down to which character's POV I am writing from because Charles is going to go crazy over how attractive Max is and vice versa. So I definitely agree with you anon, I love it when they are both so confused and just can't get over how the other would be insecure because they are just perfect.

(I am also sure that there are some people who write fanfiction about Max who actually don't like him and are using him as a plot device and in those cases they are quite happy to describe him as ugly, I personally avoid anything that even seems like it is going in that direction though!)

[im-literally-a-loser]

Okay, let's talk about Eddie's mustache in this season (s8) of 911.

First off, I should preface this by saying that I work as a full time EMT and work as a stage hand part time, but have an extensive work history in costume design, construction, and primarily in dressing/wardrobe (that's what I did before). Also, I'm just gonna be rambling here and I'm really sleep deprived, so please pardon me if none of this makes a lick of sense.

I personally hate the firefighter mustache from an aesthetic standpoint. I don't think they're attractive (some people can rock them, but very very few), I don't have one, and I do not ever plan to have one.

That being said, when I was finally talked into watching 911, I remember commenting that "you knew it wasn't real because none of them had a firefighter mustache" and while this is something I have not commented on since then, I was overjoyed when I heard about Eddie's mustache this season.

The costume designer in me has always enjoyed when actors and designers embrace the slightly odd or outlandish elements of a culture or time period that are not considered conventionally attractive in order to create authenticity. "But this isn't a different culture or time period?" I would disagree. Culture is defined as "the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group" (oxford dictionary). Per those parameters, firefighters have their own culture.

For those of you who are curious about the history of the firefighter mustache and how that became a part of firefighter culture (and now, to a certain extent, first responder culture as a whole), I recommend doing your own Google search on that front.

That being said, from a costume standpoint/actor choice, this is one of my favorite things I've seen in the show because it takes this little piece of culture that seems bizarre or miniscule to many but has a history and is recognizable by first responders across the states (maybe even around the world, I don't know) and puts it out there.

I have to admit, I love even more that it's on Eddie, because while I think Buck's character would be the most likely to have one in real life, I think that its cool to see Eddie being the one to embrace it for three reasons.

Reason 1) He's having a mental breakdown and his life is falling apart right now. I'm pretty sure we've all known someone to try a new thing style-wise during a breakdown.

Reason 2) he has a military background. This is also something you see being embraced by members of the military. I don't know the cultural significance there, but the military is another circle where you see the same type of mustache present as the most prominent form of facial hair.

Reason 3) and this is only kind of related to Eddie, but the only other person in the show who definitely has a firefighter mustache is Gerrard... I'm definitely looking too far into this, but ain't that just curious?

Anywho, I'm done rambling, but those are my thoughts on the subject, as a person who has a bit of an inside view on a couple sides of the spectrum.

[sandsorghum]

shoutout to anyone who's ever looked at their ancient drafts and had to sit with how Truly Deranged they've been/insist on being

i'd like to think im roughly 97% recovered from nanami (hush...we don't speak of the 3% on wednesday post-midnights) - it's a little bit scary to think about returning to that state. i don't mean in a bad way, im just recognising the emotional weight of it. i both miss it and am intimidated by it, yknow.

i wonder sometimes if i only could get that attached because i didn't know how ruthless akutami was as an author - i definitely attribute or associate my longing for nanami with the brevity of his feature.

i would joke about the psychic damage that panel still deals me but the gag is the self-deprecating "if i don't laugh i'd sob about it" kind

with higuruma yeah, i'm deep enough into the series to know not to get too attached. i am still very attracted to him! but it's so far off from nanami's era. they are quite different men too. but yknow i will confess my type may just be (hot) world weary mentor figures. unfgh

from time to time i muse, was there something about nanami that lent him a certain versatility amidst verisimilitude or was i just so enamoured i could imagine him in any plethora of scenarios?

i wonder! because currently i like to play around with a more fixed set of scenarios with higuruma, feeling out the perimeters of his predictability- perhaps im just getting started on knowing him, figuring out how to flesh him out - but i find the appeal of his character distinct too from nanami's. grounded but not quite jaded, knows how to poke fun at himself, at systems. his sense of irony has a more comic inflection, even though i know how much it's underpinned by the tragic too - but well, it's always been...a challenge shall we say, for me to resist characters who laugh and spit in the face of fate.

i adore(d?) nanami with an all-consuming unrivaled ingenue sincerity, whereas there's an impossible to ignore relatability about hiromi and him being embattled by his own zeal for ethical standards. i miss them both so much! it's odd to articulate this but sometimes it makes me so frustrated and forlorn that the only place i get to enjoy their company again is on a blank page. but i guess, that's the mark of great fiction, the beloved are real for the littlest while, and not real enough for the remainder.

all right lads, queue up the mitski 😭

[buttercup-art]

→   repost, do not reblog !!  

Name: Noa Elizabeth Simmons

Nickname: None she knows about. Wouldn't hate it if someone gave her a nickname (depending on what it is), but she wouldn't exactly like it either.

Gender: Female

Romantic orientation: Pansexual

Preferred pet names: Anything that's flattering or affectionate. She likes 'darling' and 'sweetheart', but she's okay with any other alternative. Does not like 'babe' (Who do you think she is? Some girl you just picked up off the street?)

But it kind of depends on the context.

Relationship status: Dependent.

Favorite canon ship: Noa isn't a canon character, so none lol

Favorite non-canon ship: I ship her with Hugo!

Opinion on true love: She likes the idea of it, but doesn't really believe it exists. At least, not for her. (But that's just what she tries to tell herself. The idea of loving a person just to get her heart shattered into a million pieces when they inevitably stab her in the back is not one she really likes. But maybe someone can convince her otherwise?...)

Opinion on love at first sight: Doesn't think it exists. Looks can be deceiving, after all. She may find someone attractive, but would prefer to keep her distance for the time being. Just until she's absolutely certain she can trust them.

How ‘romantic’ are they?: Not very, but she still has a bit of a soft spot for romance. Prefers to do things that are more personal and thoughtful, rather than classic ones that are likely to get results.

Ideal physical traits: She finds a lot of physical traits attractive, but usually likes men (and women) who are tall and broad. Beards and goatees are a plus.

Ideal personality traits: Confidence/boldness, humor, disinterest in talking about feelings

Unattractive physical traits: I'm not entirely sure.

Ideal date: Something expensive, for sure. But she might have to be the one to pay for it.

Do they have a type?: People who can get on her level.

Average relationship length: In general, her relationships are usually pretty short (her being so closed-off is a part of it. That, or she decided they weren't worth her time).

Preferred non-sexual intimacy: Giving gifts, catered to that person's preferences and tastes. Expensive or not, it's definitely going to be something meaningful, to let them know she cares.

Commitment level: Low.

Opinion of public affection: Doesn't mind when it comes to other people doing it, but gets uncomfortable if she's the one involved in it. She has a certain image to uphold.

Past relationships?: Has had multiple non-serious partners, all of which have never stayed for too long.

Tagged by: @hyperionhugo (in spirit. I stole this one too lol)

Tagging: Anyone who wants to do this!

[crystallinestars]

Hello! I'm back for another rant :)

I was still thinking about Mihoyo's tendency to pair characters and play the ambiguity game to make more money and something I've noticed is that people will jump through sooo many hoops to defend the company. ''oh they can't be explicit because of censorship'', ''oh it's China, their culture is different!'' or even ''stupid entitled westerners always complaining about things they don't even try to understand smh 🙄''

Now, while I can agree that censorship and culture should be taken into account when talking about these games, I also feel like it's a bit disingenuous and lowkey patronising to chalk it all up to ''the Chinese are just all like that lol''

Like, why are we so vehemently defending a company that makes millions (if not billions) through ship teasing, as you've put before? Censorship does not change the fact that the development that characters get in these games (especially Genshin) goes out the window every other event or as soon as the main story is finished. And whenever I hear someone talk about censorship, I always think about Mo Dao Zu Shi (granted, the situation was different in its case so we should take it with a grain of salt) where its donghua and drama adaptations where indeed censored (but they were much more explicit than whatever's going on in Hoyoverse), yet the novel (the source material) had many MANY chapters with its two male leads going at it

I admit that I've been feeling a bit salty recently (because I feel like people only care about coding when it comes to the 'great' questions of ''OK but do these two men FUCK? How many times a day do they go at it and who's the woman in this ship??'' Meanwhile nobody ever talks about different dynamics, asexuality and aromanticism are seen as boring, and oh lord does bisexuality seem to be often treated as a trump card to say ''ok but this character is at least 50% gay'') and I also don't know that much about how everything works in China, but idk, I guess my point is that if they wanted to make ships canon, they WOULD (or could) find a way to do so

Anyway, your recent posts and asks also got me thinking and I guess I wanted to show you some support! I've seen your bio and I think it's a really smart move on your part to be clear on what you don't feel comfortable with from the get go. It can definitely be awkward when you have to tell someone that's just really excited to share their thoughts on something they enjoy that you're not interested and you'd rather not talk about this AT ALL. And it really does not help that popular ships tend to attract a lot of unhinged behaviour 😑 It's really refreshing to come across content creators like you, who are very clear in their boundaries and write such thoughtful fics

Once again, I hope you will be left to do your own thing in peace and that you'll keep finding ways and solutions for you to enjoy your favourite works without feeling alienated 💜

(And hopefully one day I will learn how to type short rants 😅)

Haha, short rants don't exist, Anon! It's perfectly okay to type long rants to me, I don't mind. If anything, I relish in them. As someone who rants and complains a lot myself, I welcome it when someone else does it. 😊 (I mean, just look at the length of my reply. I am not any better than you, dear Anon)

Lord, the "Mihoyo can't show explicit gay ships because of the CCP censorship" excuse grates on my nerves, as well. Censorship of homosexuality is definitely a thing in China, and it can sometimes be very horrible, but that's not what's stopping Mihoyo from making certain ships canon. They got way with a lot of lesbian ships in Honkai 3rd (though admittedly they had to tone it down once new laws were implemented, but the fact remains that at some point they were able to be blatant about their ships), and if we're talking actual coding, then Jeht being lesbian-coded is a thing that exists! If it was such a huge deal, I feel like Mihoyo would have either been way more subtle about it or not included these things at all.

It's just my personal opinion, but I'm certain that the reason Mihoyo doesn't make any ship canon is for the sake of making money. They need to sell characters, and the best way to do that is to allow players to enjoy characters the way they want. Assigning a specific sexuality or canon ship will crush the interpretations some players have about a character, and make that character unappealing. It would negatively impact their sales. Keeping things vague and only giving teases of the most popular ships seems to be the ideal marketing tactic for them. It panders to a lot more people this way and keeps most of them happy (however, the fact remains that they ignore a particular demographic of women, though that's a story for another time).

Regarding your reasons why people whip out the "coding" card... YOU ARE SO RIGHT! People only use sexuality coding as a way to "prove" their gay ship is canon and discredit any BG pairing. And they focus on things like one guy being muscular and the other more slender, and then assigning traditionally masculine and feminine traits to them, respectively. I could go on a whole separate rant about this topic, but I'll spare you the wall of text. Feminizing one of the guys in a gay ship is one of my biggest pet peeves, especially when it's OOC for the character.

One thing I noticed is that sexuality often gets used as a convenient tool to suit the needs of certain shippers instead of being used for actual diversity.

I can't tell you the amount of times I saw a sexuality tier list where the aromantic and asexual rows were treated as trash bins where people tossed the characters they didn't care about. There's no actual thought put into the sorting, and that's very unfair to actual aro and ace persons.

As for bisexuality... it's such a polarizing topic in fandoms. It's seen as a good thing when you have a canonical BG pairing, because then you can claim one or both are bi and therefore are also attracted to the same sex (as you said, they're "at last 50% gay" and can be shipped in gay pairings). However, if you have a non-canon BL or GL ship, saying one or both characters are bi is tantamount to treason. How dare you suggest they can be attracted to the opposite sex? That's erasing the gay representation!

Basically, bisexuality, much like the term "coding", gets treated like a tool that's allowed to exist only when it's convenient to a person, instead of as an actual sexuality real people have. I feel like bi, aroace, and pansexual people get shafted hard in fandoms in general.

Anyways, thank you for your support, Anon! I mentioned it in another post, but putting your likes and dislikes in the bio is a common practice in the Eastern part of the world, and I chose to copy that. I think it's a good way to meet people with similar interests while also letting those who have opposite interests avoid you. If the BL Anon had checked my bio first before following me, he could have spared himself some trouble haha. Sadly, it seems that many don't look at bios 😢

Thank you for your nice sentiments! I'm fairly confident that I won't be harassed, especially not in the reader-insert community, but I appreciate the thought! And hopefully I can find a way to combat the alienation... If not, then I'll simply uninstall both HSR and Genshin and find games that actually pander to me 😅

May you stay happy and free of harassment as well, dear Anon! 💚

[snarktheater]

I read part of your Maze Runner reviews and wanted to ask about toxic masculinity and purple prose. I still have trouble seeing toxic masculinity as I always thought guys could talk about women being attractive amongst themselves but also know that appearance does not define anyone. That's something that guys can joke about. And I wondered about purple prose, as I have always been a descriptive writer with how I describe things, and I wondered if I am being descriptive or writing purple prose. Any advice for these topics?

P.S. I am worried that I have biases because I am a straight, white, male who has predominately grown up in a small metro city in Texas. I went to college, which definitely opened my eyes, but I still have trouble adjusting to the world as it changes(commuted from home). I've been introverted most of my life and the two friends I have are white men. My parents always taught me to treat people the same, and I always thought that was the right thing to do. I never thought of anyone being superior or inferior to anyone else. Now I hear that it can be bad to treat people the same way as it could disregard their backgrounds or upbringings. I only share this to provide context to my character and whether I can still learn to be at least a good or decent writer/person.

Okay i'll start with the purple prose because, well, it's been ten years and i have to recant some of it. I mean, the prose in these books did annoy me. I do not like it. I've just grown enough to recognize it's more "not for me" than "objectively bad" and i think the phrase purple prose pathologizes or vilifies a certain style of writing that's ultimately valid. Ineffective in my opinion, but I'm sure it has its perks.

What I would say on the topic instead (now) is to be mindful of the medium you're writing in. Having encountered that type of prose more, my working theory is it tends to irk me when the writer comes across as writing as if they're making a movie in their head. Which is not playing to the strengths of the medium you're in, and kind of comes across as if the writer wrote a book by default, because they didn't have the means to access a hollywood-level production, rather than out of a genuine love of the medium.

At least, that's how it feels to me.

It's not like describing visuals is inherently bad, but it's much more powerful if you can give the visuals meaning. Tell us how the visuals makes someone feel. Make the scene affect something. Sparkle in some theming! Don't make those curtains just be blue.

Toxic masculinity is a much broader topic, one that a single tumblr ask can't possibly begin to cover. But to bounce off your example: the issue is that "men talking about women's appearance in private" doesn't happen in a vacuum. Women are objectified in society, and it reinforces that notion when they're treated as literal objects to be discussed behind closed doors.

But that's not the part of it that I would really put into toxic masculinity. To me (as far as I understand as someone who has a very layperson understanding of it) the part of it that's toxic masculinity is how the act of discussing it with other men, or people perceived as such, behind closed doors, creates an environment in which one can either participate in it, or see themselves devalued. Speaking from experience as a queer person: there's nothing more terrifying than being forcibly dragged into that conversation, and having to decide how to navigate it without putting myself at risk. And I'm actually attracted to women, contrary to popular belief. It just so happens that my gender is complex and my attraction to women is more akin to a lesbian asking Agatha Harkness to put a curse on me, mommy. But interestingly, if I brought that to the table in boy talk, that would also get me ostracized. Because it's not just about talking about women's looks, it's about doing so in a prescriptive way, one that enforces a certain type of attractiveness above others (and that intersects with race, ability, etc) and that also enforces a certain power dynamic in the attraction of a man to a woman.

(Well, I say it's terrifying. It was as a teen. As an adult who has grown comfortable enough with his autism to make it everyone else's problems I just side eye and go blank until they stop)

But this doesn't affect only queer people, obviously. This same mechanism of social ostracism also affects any man, even a cis straight man, who would want to object to the treatment of women, or express a less conventional kind of attraction (like, say, the example I just cited, although I've yet to see a straight man say that about Agatha Harkness).

And that's...not easy to wrap your mind around! You kinda have to deconstruct your entire world view. It's not easy. The only reason someone like me might have an easier time of it is because I've had to do it to figure out who the hell I am in the first place.

This is why I don't think your point about treating all people equally works all that well. Maybe something may have gotten lost in translation, because it's not about giving someone preferential treatment. The thing is, objectification is harmful to everyone, not because you're feeling or expressing attraction (or lack thereof) but because of the implied power behind it. And that power, in the world we live in, is concentrated in the hands of privilege and wielded against the marginalized. So it's more that, in trying to redress social injustice, it's more urgent to call it out when wielded in that direction.

And just to be clear, as I hope was obvious in my little segue: you can still be horny without objectifying someone. It's about treating them with respect, as people with autonomy.

Anyway. Last thing I'll say is we live in an age where you have countless opportunities to find other perspectives, even if you're introverted and with friends who are mostly from a similar background. I am very much a shut in. That's what the internet is for.

[katriniac]

Ikemen Series Tiermaker

Otome game! Tag someone whose tier list you want to see!

This is the most complete one I've found. They included 8 Cybird games: Destined to Love, Midnight Cinderella, Ikemen Sengoku (missing Keiji and Kanetsugu), Ikemen Live, Ikemen Revolution, Ikemen Genjiden, Ikemen Vampire, and Ikemen Prince. I think it's missing only the 3 new princes, Kanetsugu, and Keiji.

Here is mine, as of January 2023 -

:readmore:

💚 So far no one has been able to unthrone Sasuke. Everything about him is perfect for me. His supportive nature, humor, genius intellect, kindness, scientific bent, curiosity, bravery, sweetness, reliability, open-mindedness, understanding nature, resourcefulness, resiliency, loyalty, glasses, and .... he looks equally hot in his lab coat as in his ninja garb.

🩵 If Tears of Themis was included in this tiermaker, Artem Wing would firmly be in "Top Love Interests". WHERE he would fall in the ranking order is less certain, though. This entire section is in constant rotation of who is where, based on my mood swings or hormone horniness at any given moment.

💙 Again, if ToT was included, Vyn Richter would fit here. If I could have added Kanetsugu, he'd be here for certain (I'll wait for his route before I decide to bump him up to the turquoise tier).

💜 I hold strong feelings and connections to these guys, but I simply can't see them as potential lovers. I adore them, I would donate an organ for them, I would spend hours/days/years with them.

🩷 Oof, this category HAD to be made specifically for Mitsuhide. And then I ended up adding a few more curiosities to the collection. These are the mad lads whose stories I NEED to read because I'm so very very intrigued by them and I love how they are written. But there isn't a shred of sexual or physical attraction existing for me (okay...maybe a shred for Seth. And maybe maybe for Mitsuhide). If I could have added Keiji and the new characters from Ikemen Prince, Keith and Gilbert, this would be the best category for them.

❤ This category...? Um, I needed a place to put the dudes who are HAWT🔥 but I think are toxic or crass or just not my cup of tea. If other otome games were included in this list, I would definitely put Soichiro from "7 Hotties All My Husbands" and Rei Shindo from "Several Shades of Sadism". Takasugi would scratch a very particular itch I have if only he wasn't such an uncommunicative jerk! Faust with his glasses, stern expression, scientific curiosity, and high standards is SO MY TYPE, but the game developers decided to have him pretend to be a priest (masquerading as clergy or religious vocation is a squick for me). Those are just a few examples of men who are in that category of "you're so yummy, but you'll give me an upset stomach, so I have to control myself."

💥 💥 💥 💥 💥 💥 💥 💥

Make your own tiers!

Use the hash tag

#ikemen tiermaker

so we can all see who your husbandos are! 😘