#my solution is just to multi hc the character

[bombontheevilcat]

My Brain Soup Accidentally Turned Short Analysis on Naoto (and Gender Essentalism)

CW: P4 discourse; Naoto gender, mentions of gender essentialism

been thinking about it and the problem with Naoto's writing in P4 really isn't about whether or not they are trans in actuality (will use gender neutral pronouns here cuz it's skewy) but the fact that their character arc of "accepting the truth" conflates their desire to be recognized in a male dominated field despite being a young teenage woman/afab person with gender essentialist thinking in their declaration (social link) and "acceptance" (shadow) of the fact that they are a women.

The Shadows in p4 are vague beings but can be thought of as the parts a person cannot accept of themself morphed into a sort of deluded or extremist form. Take Chie and Yukiko's shadows for example. Yukiko's is a helpless damsel in distress who needs the help of someone else, a prince, to take her away form the "castle imprisoning" her while not wanting to do anything herself. Chie's is deeply jealous, exploiting and controlling her friends to "prop herself up" and feel good about herself. They aren't really like the person at all but represent bottled-up parts of their self, Chie IS jealous of Yukiko's ease in performing traditional femininity and does feel a sense of fulfillment in Yukiko's dependency on her. Yukiko is frustrated with what she feels is a lack of independency and insecure about reclaiming that and taking action herself. It's when they accept these aspect of their own self that they are rewarded with their true self, their persona (this "true" self also isn't stable but changes when the characters grow and develop as seen in their social link).

When looking at Naoto's Shadow there are two main characteristics to it. It's incredibly childish, both tonally and in its spite for not being seen and thus desires to hurry and become a "big boy" to be acknowledge. It also has a compulsion with Naoto's gender/sex (they use "sex" in english and 性別/seibetsu in Japanese in the game's text but today we would use more distinct language for an English equivalent) wanting to alter Naoto's body to that of a male after revealing their AGAB, mentioning how they'd admire strong and cool men in their detective fiction and tried to be them despite the truth of them just being a child and how manly and cool sounding Naoto's name is despite the truth of never being able to cross "the barrier between the sexes" and can never be an ideal man because they aren't one. The Shadow finally reveals that they are going to alter Naoto's body to "not suffer anymore" (guys, free top surgery just dropped, check out your tv on a rainy night and reach into it). A battle ensues and it ends with Naoto accepting their shadow. Naoto's conclusion is that they shouldn't strive to become an adult or a man (mentions both in JP but only man in EN probably because "term for adult and male" = man) but to accept themself for who they really are, declared a woman.

This acceptance of themself is later expanded on in their social link. The larger part of the social link is really about Naoto finding their inner child again but throughout the link there are moments where you can "affirm" Naoto's "womanhood" through dialogue options. The initial link you can choose "I gotta help. you're a girl", albeit Naoto doesn't take well to that but then you have "I'm glad you're a girl" which is a romance flag and later on you can choose to "Protect Naoto" which is the final romance flag to get to date them. There is also the heteronormative aspect to Naoto's romance route where you have to push them into "traditional feminine roles" in terms of gender dynamics. However outside of the romance these choices are inconsequential but being that the romance options are still "positive" choices I think it somewhat reveals how the writers sort of processed the idea behind Naoto's gender/sex (ofc there is also the wish fulfillment for the player's sake). It's in rank 9 where Naoto brings up their gender identity. To them putting the expectation that they have to be an adult or a man on themself was running away from the truth and that is that they are a woman and a detective.

To me the gender essentialist thinking in Naoto's affirmation in womanhood comes down to two things, conflating gender/sex (benefit of a doubt; signs of the time) but also conflating the idea of a "child forcing themselves to be an adult", wanting to have adult recognition and a "woman forcing themselves to be a man" due to external pressure. The way the word "truth" is used in Naoto's case is about something essential or fundamental to their self that Naoto rejects. Naoto is a kid, only 15 years old, who tries to act "grown-up" and fit in as a child prodigy, they are not an adult and thus can only try to imitate one. This is very much in line with any concept of adulthood and age so it's nothing controversial. But the game treats the rigid binary idea of "a child cannot be an adult" the same as that of "a woman cannot be a man".

There is never any thought about Naoto's gender other than the fact that it is their AGAB, their "sex". When Naoto accepts themselves it's treated as an intrinsic quality once the "truth" is revealed which shows a gender essentialist mindset. As is now I believe Naoto's storyline is on a messy line of trans-coding, gender essentalism and ignorant writing but with relevant themes (both in terms of gender identity and workplace sexism) and that is what makes it a very controversial and discourse-inducing topic.

Though outside of Naoto's gender I actually really enjoy their arc. I think that Naoto's struggle with their inner child, having been forced to sort of lock away their "childishness"; their passions, quirks and likes, is genuinely compelling. I liked how the social link expanded on that and how we got to learn about these smaller details they had suppressed from their childhood. Also very sweet how grampy shirogane decides to put up this mystery for Naoto to solve, to help them get in touch with their inner child again and smile and be happy. It's just very precious and gave me the big feels :tm:. I also like their contributions in the main story (despite my having grievances with the "mystery" aspect of it) and the dynamic they have with the cast (when the game isn't being that weird anime taste of misogyny, y'kno the type). They're allowed to be a teenager and have fun but they still carry a lot of the mysteries of the plot which compliments their arc well.

[twisted-tales-told]

hi honey - maple harvest and amber!

Hi Linds!!! ILY!!

This ask game

First of all when I saw this I melted at honey because pet names make me die inside (in a good way)

Second of all, the second time I saw this I spent a full minute scanning the ask game for “honey”

Maple— a hobby you’ve always wanted to try but never have

I need to learn how to make clothing. I have a friend who knows how now & I need to absorb the skills second hand (Jackie if u see this I m looking at you)

What fictional character do you most identify with

James Potter. I am a James Potter girlie to the end of my DAYS. I don’t even care if I don’t seem like him. He’s mine.

Amber — share an unpopular opinion you have

I feel like I have a lot but also idk if they’re unpopular or if I just have good friends

TO PREFACE I AM ANTI-CENSORSHIP write what you want but that doesn’t mean I have to like it!! And I will be talking about things I Hate below this. Obviously not like. Directly at people because as said im anti-censorship

1. Snape is way way way wAYY more interesting to me that BCJ and I also like snape more than I like Barty. Like just because JKR was weird about him liking Lily doesn’t mean we have to keep that & you even that out a bit and you’ve got a VERY interesting character right there.

2. Regulus Black is NOT a slutty snarky dead inside sugar baby and it makes me ANGRY when people write him this way. I get livid about the current dominant characterization for Regulus SO MUCH. I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all and tbh it’s 90% of why I left the fandom. Like truly it makes me so angry seeing him depicted this way. I have deep rage about it. This boy is a wet cat. In sophs words he is PRICKLY not PLUCKY. In Nats words he is SOGGY and a FREAK and a LOSER. He would not have friends in middle school. He is constantly living in the shadow of his cool older brother and wants to be like him and fails to recognize what is special about being himself.

Like James falling in love with him is entirely just James looking at the scraggliest most pathetic cat living in the woods behind his house and saying “yeah that’s mine”

And also regulus is mean to James because he’s scared of people leaving him not because Mean is one of his core character traits. Mean is nobody’s core character trait there’s always something behind the meanness and I rlly rlly hate when he Literally Bullies James. Like that’s not nice. I don’t like reading that personally it makes my chest hurt & not in a cute way.

ALSO the sugar baby trope doesn’t work when they’re both rich. That just doesn’t make sense. Regulus has more money than James and the only reason I think it’s written this way is—and same with Wolfstar—is because of heteronormative stereotypes. Which like if that’s what you want to be doing then fine okay go for it. I do hate it but if you care about my opinion then that rlly says more abt u & it is in fact a you problem.

3. I also have deep rage about the hc of James potter having BPD. I have seen it scrolling in the ao3 tags a couple times & like power to you ig but My neurodivergence that knows about psychology gets REAL mad about it because factually you’re just incorrect. Like BPD develops under very specific circumstances and I get really annoyed when that isn’t taken into account!!

You wanna talk BPD let’s talk Sirius Black, I am down to have that conversation.

But James Fleamont Potter does not have a single precursor to developing this personality disorder and it just gets to me. It gets to me okay? That’s my whole reasoning it just gets to me I hate when the psychology of a fic doesn’t make sense as to who the characters are at their core. In my head. So.

4. Learning to multi ship saves lives and if you’re not down for it at least a little bit then I do quietly think you’re gonna become one of those people who’s one day gonna be so close minded you’ll have the solutions to all ur problems appear on a plate in front of you and you’ll just be like “nah I��d have to leave my comfort zone”

5. Non fandom related…fun fact leaving your confort zone is a necessary part of life & you have to be willing to do so in order to learn, grow, and unlearn prejudice. So. Important skill to learn. Might as well start with ships.

ANYWAYS THIS GOT SO LONG

TL;DR: regulus characterizations in most fics rn make me ill, James potter deserves better than yall & so do i (not speaking of my beautiful lovely mutuals esp you Linds I am so sorry for unloading this on ur ask)

[glowingbadger]

Ashe SFW and nsfw HC? Also ferdie too pls? Ty!

A couple of sweet good boys on a sunday let's gooooo

Ashe, Ferdinand (FE3H) x GN Reader HCs

SFW (nsfw below the cut)

Ashe:

- Ashe is absolute precious boyfriend material, with all of the cozy and comforting trappings that come with it. Cute inside jokes and pet names that sound like nonsense to anyone else, shared clothing and swinging your hand slightly when he holds it- all of the wonderful little things that reinforce the effortless way you just 'get' each other.

- He does worry about you a lot, but he'll tend to channel that into productive solutions. He'll offer to teach you some techniques with a bow, or even certain little survival tricks he learned in his rougher upbringing. His first instinct is to be your chivalrous knight- to throw himself in front of you and protect you with his whole being. However, he can certainly be convinced to channel this instead into helping you feel confident in your abilities so you both have less cause to worry to begin with.

- Dates with Ashe are usually pleasant walks through town, or through a nice forest path he'd heard of from the locals. You two will bring some food you prepared together, and simply enjoy each other's company along with the sights. When you do feel like taking time for a bite to eat, he'll even regale you with his favorite chivalrous tales. He apologizes for getting so wrapped up in them- surely you must find them embarrassing or boring -but he's so passionate and engaging when he tells you these stories, it's hard not to get swept up with him.

Ferdinand:

- get ready to be ~spoiled~ my friend. Once you've captured Ferdie's heart, no gesture is too grand, no price is too high, and no effort is too great for the chance for him to express his adoration. He'll have flowers delivered to your quarters until you're surrounded by a veritable garden, and if he has to bring a personal chef to Garreg Mach to ensure your favorite dishes are always available, then so be it. If his absolute excessive doting is too much for comfort, he can be talked down a little bit, though you're going to have to be firm with him. In general, Ferdinand does best with a straightforward and communicative partner, as he doesn't always do well with subtext.

- While not necessarily into PDA (it seems ignoble to engage in physical pleasures in public), he has absolutely no qualms about calling you "darling" or "dearest" no matter what the company. He'll openly brag about you to anyone who will listen too- though he hardly sees why he should have to, since it's so obvious that you're the most stunning, brilliant, charming person in Fodlan and elsewhere.

- Ferdie frequently enjoys sharing a ride around the castle grounds on horseback. If you don't know how to ride, he'll gladly teach you, and in fact he secretly savors the chance to guide you by hand and provide for you. Of course, it's equally if not more appealing to have you share a saddle with him, held close to him by an arm around your waist.

- He's shy about admitting it at first but he loves when you brush and/or braid his hair- it feels so intimate and loving!

NSFW v

Ashe:

- we've chatted about Ashe's sexual tendencies a bit, so feel free to check the masterlist in my profile for more of this good good boy (he's in a bunch of the multi character posts), but let's see what else we can chat about.

- Ashe bruises fairly easily, so it's likely you'll leave a hickey or two on him without even fully meaning to. He's very sweet about it, shyly smiling and telling you that he doesn't mind if it's from you. The other Blue Lions (okay mostly just Sylvain) might tease him a bit if they notice, but in truth, this just makes Ashe think about how wonderful it was to have you and how he can't wait to be with you again.

- His cock is about average in length, but it has a wonderful shape to it that stimulates all kinds of unexpected spots. When fully erect, it has a nice, strong upward curve, and the head bulges a bit thicker and has an attractive dark pink flush to it. Ashe also has gorgeously defined arm and shoulder muscles, so he's more than strong and dexterous enough to pull off any position you'd like to try, despite his lithe frame. If anything, the gap appeal between how sweet and earnest he is and how pleasurable the sex can be is arousing in its own right.

- He's very shy about giving and receiving oral at first. He has this idea that giving oral is a complex and scientific process for him to master, and he desperately wants to get it right for you. Meanwhile, receiving feels like he's making you do something subservient for him, which he's personally not into (he's not into power dynamics in bed much in general). He can absolutely get over this, and in fact he can be quite good at oral once he learns to relax and just try things and learn together, but you're going to have to reassure him a bit.

Ferdinand:

- why have I written so little about Ferdie?? He's a joy, let's talk about fucking him.

- Ferdinand actually has a fairly impressive cock, and he has no idea. It's not like he's completely naïve- he's fooled around a bit with romantic interests in the past- but you're likely to be his first true sexual partner once he's realized his enduring feelings for you. So when you ease down the hem of his breeches and see his manhood standing long and thick and nicely tapered, you might be a bit pleasantly surprised.

- Related, Ferdie definitely gets off on praise. Steadily stroking his length while telling him how beautiful his cock is, how big it is, how you can't wait to feel him inside of you, will easily have him bright red in the face and panting for you in no time. If you liked, you could certainly get him to cum like this, making an absolute mess as he spills his load all over your hands with his head tilted back and his fists clenched.

- He's a bit clumsy with his hands at first, having not learned about sex to any great degree prior to you. He'll be immensely relieved if you're the type to tell him exactly what you want and what feels good for you, so communication is key when it comes to him. However, he has a wonderful natural sense of how to move his hips, and his thigh and glute muscles are well developed as any true equestrian's would be. Riding Ferdinand is especially enjoyable, since he'll intuitively match your rhythm so he's pushing deep into you at the best possible angle.

- Ferdinand is beautifully sensitive in a number of places. He loves having his hair pulled, and feeling your nails along his scalp and down the back of his neck raises goosebumps across his skin. His nipples are sensitive as well, and while he may be shy about you playing with them at first, the feeling is simply too pleasurable to resist. As he starts to realize the full potential of different types of sensations, his foreplay improves exponentially as well- he becomes more adventurous, kissing and gently nipping at your stomach, your inner thighs, anywhere he can reach really.

[yostresswritinggirl]

Hello, may I request for Albedo hcs for an s/o who is inattentive? For example, the reader has difficulty reading long sentences or paying attention for a short time span, and ends up zoning out a lot? (If you're comfortable with this request of course, since it comes from me having inattentive adhd, or if you aren't too busy...) (But other than that please take care of yourself (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)) Thank you ( ╹▽╹ )

:DD

Somehow these requests are pulling out my Psychology teachings ahahha- this is honestly such a nice prompt cuz I miss my college roomie, I love her so much and she has adhd. I might be projecting but I'll be using her techniques in this too! This was so cute and fun to work on awwwwwwwwww thank you anon!

The Curious Case of S/O

Albedo with a Reader that has a hard time focusing

I saw someone hc Albedo as an autistic character and I actually agree with it, so some of that aspect will seep in to this answer eheh-

SO!

When it comes to things Albedo is passionate about, he keeps himself grounded and focused on it for an unhealthy period

So when Albedo found out about your curious case, safe to say he was intrigued too, and sometimes frustrated

You’re all over the place and it kind of irks him when you can’t stay put and just- keep moving to different stuff?

But Albedo knew this before you got together and he took it upon himself to make sure you’re taken care of whenever such episodes happen, he’s your lover and a genius, he can and will find a way

Reading: Albedo loves reading literature and will offer to read out the text for you if you get frustrated enough over it. He may not have all the time in the world, but if it’s important that you understand this text he will make sure you do so

His voice is really nice and calming, but sometimes- you get so lost in them that you ended up just focusing on his voice instead of uhhh paying attention to what he was saying

big sigh

If that approach doesn’t work then he’s got another trick up his sleeves!

Doodles, sketches, all that cute artistic stuff!

There’s a chance you already do this but he’s gonna make this 95% more effective!

When taking notes for big texts, he’s gonna draw little doodles to the side so you can get a good grasp of what it means just by looking over it.

If the text is especially long, he’ll give it a quick once over, and then rewrite it just to highlight the most important parts you need to remember

He’ll take it up a notch and use different colored pens to write over it so you would know what you need to read without going through the whole chapter

If he wills it, Albedo would find himself incorporating such techniques on his notes as well and he’ll just chuckle at his antics (smiling every time he remembers you through his lil notes)

Being inattentive also makes it so you forget or not take note of important stuff

Chief Alchemist also has a good remedy for this!

Given, this was established after numerous trials and errors of finding the best route

F I N G E R  R I N G  B A N D S

This boyo had this genius enlightenment of an idea one day and prepared the necessary materials

Ngl you actually thought he was gonna propose when he offered that golden ring, you were about to cry

until you see him bring out ten more rings, multi-colored

w h a t

And so he explains as he grasps your non-dominant hand:

“Your thumb represents the early morning, from when you wake up after the sun.

Your index finger signifies the period of 12PM, the moments the busy-ness starts, never forget to eat lunch always, darling.

Your middle finger is the longest and busiest hour, the middle of the afternoon where the sun is high up in the sky. You’ll find yourself running around a lot during this period, and I won’t always be there to remind you.

Your ring finger,” he pauses to give it a gentle kiss, “someday. But anyways, this is the period when the darkness starts to devour the sky in place of the sun. You should be cleaning up and finishing all other tasks at this period.

And finally your pinky finger, almost at the dead hours of the night, god knows what you’ll be doing at this time when you should be ready for rest. I don’t want to see a lot or any rings here, for you should be in my arms by this time.”

After that heart-warming, proposal-like dialogue, he’ll offer the rings and explain as best he can

The red ring represents deadlines; blue stands for commissions; white is for meet-ups; pink is for self-care or routines

He holds up the gold rings with a soft smile, placing one in each finger as he explains, “This one stands for me. Make sure that on every finger I am there, to remind you that I wish to know how you are, to accompany me so that I can remind you that I love you every day of the year.”

If you’re still alive after this, good for you

OTherwise I’m dead, this man is so cheesy and hnghhh-

After all that, Albedo wakes up with you and helps you organize your rings for the day <3

It looks nice and glamorous on your hand, and even if you get distracted by it, you’ll find yourself being reminded of what you need to do

Genuis boyo

But that’s not even 100% of his power

nononono he has another solution and this was something he picked up after spending time with you

His pretty t e a l eyes (just look at that damn banner)

You seem to stop everything when he focuses his eyes on you, eye contact, like you’re grounded or crystallized

Somehow when you see eye-to-eye it gives him enough time to remind you that you’re focusing on the wrong thing, go back to your notes

It’s just- so pretty :((

Works 99% of the time!

The rare 1% it doesn’t work tho, you get this very rare moment: before you can even move away from your task, finding yourself not caring about it again, he’ll just wrap his arms around you from behind. They’re comfortably tight, grounding your feet to the floor as he whines against your hair, scolding you and telling you to finish your stuff first

You couldn’t say no to a cute whiney Albedo

You can’t

//brings out knife// You better not-

Bonus: Albedo likes to focus on the important things, but he’s easily intrigued by curious things too

And with your tendency to lose focus and notice other things, this becomes a chaotic series of events

You’re both silently sitting in his laboratory, him sketching a diagram of his current research

You look up from the papers you were reading as you lose focus and the movement would easily catch Albedo’s attention, ready to move his lips to call you back-

“Oh, is that Crystalfly changing colors out there?”

“Huh?”

You’re both rushing to the window where you saw the phenomenon

And then you’re both running out to investigate further <3

All of Mond watches you two’s antics and finds you just to be the cutest couple in existence. Albedo has two Klee’s to take care of, is what it would look like sometimes.

PS. This is not an Albedo Blog

[sturkillerbase]

Tumblr Writers Q&A

Thank you very much for the tag @scorpio-marionette I love answering questions!!!!

1) How many complete fics/one shots do you have that you have not published (yet)?

None. I publish as I end each chapter, so there's never a completed work just sitting in my folders hahah

2) How many WIPS do you have right now?

One. It should've come out over a week ago but I had a few problems and wasn't able to finish it yet.

3) Do you take writing requests or write original ideas, or both?

Both. Though I very rarely get any requests :,)

4) If you do take requests, how many do you currently have?

None :,)

5) How many fandoms do you write for?

Right now I only have works for The Mandalorian. But I write for the Star Wars fandom in general and Devil May Cry.

6) Are there any fandoms you wrote for in the past that you no longer write for?

I've written for Marvel, and I plan on getting back to it once I'm able to settle things in my life and catch up with the movies and series.

Though I haven't written fics for them, I've done ships/pairings for Vikings and Harry Potter.

7) Do you write for ships, reader inserts or other?

Reader inserts

8) Niche fandoms/characters you write for?

No. I want to write for Frankie "Catfish" Morales but I don't know if it's niche????? I also need to watch the movie first lol

9) Do you read fics as well as write them?

Absolutely. I read much more than I write.

10) What is your favorite genre to write for?

I love to write fluff, but I enjoy writing for any genre as long as I have a clear, consistent idea in my head. So I can't really say I have a favorite.

11) What is your favorite trope (to read/write)?

It depends on the fandom hahahah but in general I love reading Mafia AUs, and anything that's "xxxx" to Lovers, specially friends to lovers.

12) What do you do to get motivated to write?

There's nothing that can motivate me to write. If I am inspired, then I can write. But "forcing" myself to do it just doesn't happen, no matter how hard I try or want.

13) Is there a trope/genre you like to read, but not write?

Anything that involves "problem - solution". I'm very good at creating a problem, but I suck at resolving them

14) Any characters/fandoms you want to write for that are never requested?

All of them. As I said before I never get requests.

15) How long have you been writing fanfiction?

OOF! Hard question. Officially, 6-7 years, although I had a long period of hiatus. But I used to write to myself before that, so...

16) Did you read fanfiction before you started writing?

Absolutely. It was fanfiction that inspired me to write fanfiction.

17) Do you only post on Tumblr, or any other sites as well?

I post on Ao3 too! But not all of the works that are here are also there. I only post on Ao3 the works I consider to be my best.

18) What do you personally consider the word counts of “Drabble”, “One shots” and “fics”?

Around 600 for drabbles, 700 to 1k for one shots, and whatever is above 1k is a fic

19) Which do you prefer to write more? HC, drabbles, oneshots/fics, multi chapter stories, other?

As I mentioned before, I don't have a favorite. If it comes up to me and I think it's a great idea, I'll happily write it whatever is the word/chapter count.

20) Are there any stories you have discontinued? If so, why?

Yes. Firstly, time. I was in school/college and it was hard to keep both things up and going. Second, lack of readers/interactions. I've always wanted to be a big fanfic writer, but I never got the feedback. I guess I'm just unlucky.

21) What is one of your main “pet-peeves” as a writer on Tumblr?

I wish readers would reblog more rather than just like. Reblogs help your favorite writers get more views, and it motivates us to continue.

22) Do you write at a particular time of day?

No, I write when I'm inspired and, most importantly, have the time and know I won't be bothered.

23) Do you listen to music, ambiance/noise, etc. to write or do you need silence?

I listen to music but it has to be instrumental. Preferably wearing headphones to block any other background noise.

24) Do you outline your fics at all before writing?

No, I keep it all in my mind lol. But I did for "It's All Coming Back to Waves". It's an important work for me

25) Do you post your writing as soon as you finish it, or do you schedule it to come out at a specific time/day?

Sometimes I end up writing until too late in the morning and feel absolutely tired to read proof and post it, so I leave to the next day. But I like to post as soon as I finish. Oh, I'm also physically unable to post them without proof reading first

NP tags: @grippingbeskar @dinner-djarin @misspearly1 and anyone else who'd like to answer these!

[palmett-hoes]

this was originally meant to be a response/follow-up to @i-did 's post about race in the aftg fandom (that you should read). i ran it by him first and asked permission to add, but then we decided it was too long so i should make it its own post

---

i want to talk about fandom's take on the twins' race because it's rather glaring in the fandom that andrew (and then aaron by necessity) are often portrayed as the only white characters on the team and i have to question why?

there's nothing in the backstories that would mean writing them as POC would fling them headlong into offensive stereotypes that the fandom hasn't bypassed over to make another fox a POC.

they have a history of addiction? but it's okay for matt and seth to be addicts and be brown.

they're violent? but it's okay for renee to be non-white and a former gang member.

they're blond and 'pale'¹? but allison can be a WOC and bleach her hair without saying it explicitly? renee can have white rainbow hair no matter the AU? neil can be a blue-eyed redhead and still be drawn darker skinned half the time?

'pale' in and of itself is a very vague word that's only brought up in the context of comparison to notably dark skinned nicky. it's completely relative, and multi-racial families where people look wildly different from each other exist (pretty commonly). or if you're prescriptivist how about the multiple ways a POC can still be a natural blond including but not limited to pigmentation conditions or being mixed race? similarly, i think less than a quarter of the FCs i've seen for andrew over the years have been natural blonds themselves.

so if our holdups aren't about racial stereotyping and they aren't about the incredibly vague character descriptions, then why are the twins always white when it's approached as a good thing that no one else is? when i've seen multiple different posts lauding the fandom for adding diversity where nora didn't write it, except for here?

.

to be completely, bluntly honest, it's because we as a majority-white fandom are uncomfortable when we are not the central characters. or maybe we are uncomfortable when people of color ARE the central characters. i don't think there's much of a difference.

we are comfortable writing and drawing nicky, the upperclassmen, then kevin (in that order) as poc because, simply, we use them as background characters. they are rarely the main characters of fics, or have their own storylines in them; it all revolves around andreil.

.

additionally, while i've used neil up to now as an example of the fandom being OKAY with writing POC, let's also admit that it's an,, imperfect representation, as he will often be racially ambiguous with no explicit ethnicity, he will be the lightest skinned of the foxes of color, and he will still have eurocentric features. also it's genuinely a toss up as to whether he's drawn brown or not, there are still plenty of white neils, much more than there are white dans and matts and renees (not an attack on anyone who draws white neils, simply a statement) and FCs and edits of him still tend to be white people.

he's a bit of a schrödinger's person of color, not really any one thing or another, very few people being willing to take a hard stance on him and do the work of taking that decision under consideration when writing and drawing him.

(quick shout-out here to @hi-raethia for making content about an explicitly chinese interpretation of neil).

(additionally, to be as clear about my intended message as possible, this isn't a statement on the politics of passing or undermining the ethnicities of lightskinned poc, this is about a lack of detail being put into making a character a character of color in any thoughtful, meaningful, or significant way)

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so when i talk about the centralization of white people in fandom, neil gets to be included, perhaps with a footnote indicating that this is somewhat of a more complicated statement than it is with lily-white andrew minyard.

nevertheless, i feel comfortable saying that 75% of fandom content revolves around andrew and neil, major exceptions only being jerejean which are often stand-alone from the foxes, and the rising branch of kevaaron shippers. however both of those ships are actually subject to this exact same criticism, as ships between a a flat-out white character and a dubiously "non-white" character who can also be white sometimes. it varies.

conspicuously, content about the UPPERCLASSMEN tends to revolve around andrew and neil.

fics where the upperclassmen are the pov character are often outside-perspective fics on andreil.

HC posts about the upperclassmen, especially matt, will devote major portions to his time spent helping, hanging with, and thinking about andrew and/or neil.

secondary ships like danmatt or renison tend to be just that, secondary ships moving in the background of andreil-focused works. they get more of a,,, scenic shout-out than a storyline

it is only comfortable for us to write these characters as characters of color if they revolve entirely around white characters

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so after all that? what should we do, as a white-majority fandom? what should YOU, specifically, as a white person, do?

i hate to talk about a problem without also talking about solutions, and i try not to carp on something i don't want to be an active part of fixing. public criticism without an action plan only leads to hurt feelings and guilt, and that's never my intention when bringing this up. my goal is to address a general problem, not anyone specific's personal failings.

in all honesty leaning completely into all of the foxes being people of color, though i think neat and i certainly support, is not the best solution, and would be more of a hollow action than anything else without addressing the underlying problems that lead to the development of this dynamic.

i think the best thing to do would be to 1. do some research on writing poc, usually by following some writing-specific blogs like @writingwithcolor or @pocinmymedia . look up the 'black best friend' trope and really spend some time tjinking about it. spend an hour seeking out a random assortment of blogs that interest you that are also run by people of color. checking through tags like drawingwhileblack or blacktober may be good kickoff points.

tumblr is great because with an hour of active work to find these blogs, you can then go months passively seeing content from them. try not to interact, actually, simply watch and listen and become familiar with general trends and concerns in different communities. remember that every blog is run by an individual person, not an elected representative of their race, and always keep this in mind.

you are teaching YOURSELF that people of color are individuals, they have interests and inner lives that don't revolve around whiteness, that don't revolve around YOU

at the same time, 2. challenge yourself as a creator to make more content about the upperclassmen, specifically. make art about them doing stuff as a group separate from neil and andrew's group. find a compilation of 'draw the squad' memes and draw/tag the upperclassmen only. make jokes where they talk to each other. write some meta about their character motivations. write a fic where andreil isn't even mentioned, it can be super short, you can even use a prompt generator.

as a reader, reread their backstories in the extra content. reread son nefes. use ao3's filtering system to read some fics about JUST the upperclassmen, few and far apart though they may be.

if we've decided that the upperclassmen are people of color then lean into that, and learn to CARE about them on their own merit, because they are the most underutilized characters in the fandom. we need to make content centralized around them to combat the fact that fandom centralizes whiteness

[fortunebuoyed]

So I am tentatively returning to activity here, mainly because I had a breakthrough on why it was so hard for me to get back over here and do anything IC. I want to preface this by saying that I appreciate all of my mutuals, and all of you that want to weave stories with my characters. This is not about most of you, as for the most part my experience since branching out into a fandom has been lovely, and some of you have been around since only a single muse from this fandom existed on this page.

That said, while I appreciate the fandom in question, I do have some discomfort with the ooc interactions within it.

As I said, I appreciate every mutual I have, but it feels like within TVC fandom there was a lot of trying to get ships off of me while ignoring anything else on the page. That was very much discouraging, something I am only realizing now examining my reasons for being away. It got to a point where people were questioning who non-fandom characters on my page even were, although their information and names are listed on the same pages you had to read to find my fandom relevant muses. It made me question whether others had read those pages, be it my rules or my muse page, or if they simply saw specific canons and hit follow.

Having outlined my reasons, I’d like to go ahead with some solutions, if you’re still reading this. I'd like it if going ahead my followers could show some interest in my other characters, even if it's just a hc ask or something from time to time. I’m not going to sit here and throw a tantrum and say people have to interact with them, because it would be so scummy to hold muses you are interested in ransom unless you interact IC with others, but it’d just be nice to see even a little ooc interest in them. Something that says the work I put into other characters isn’t going to waste or ignored by most of the dash. I would just like to feel like people aren’t shocked that my multi doesn’t cater exclusively to a single fandom.

To those who have shown interest in other characters, whether in active interactions or something as simple as liking posts about characters outside of your fandom, I thank you. To those who aren’t even involved, it means a lot to me that you took the time to read this. I’m going to try and get active again, and put all of this behind us as I move forward.